


NaruMitsu one-shots (music challenge)

by Strangelives



Category: Layton Kyouju vs Gyakuten Saiban | Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: AU, Anger, Angst, Art, Death, Love, M/M, Music, One-Shots, Suicide, Supernatural - Freeform, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, cuteness, happiness, read and see, too many tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-03-25 11:46:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 41,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3809200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangelives/pseuds/Strangelives
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So I've decided to take up a challenge given to me by my acquaintances. Here's what it was.</p><p>Challenge: Listen to any song you want and write as much as you can until the song ends. You must play the song 3 times consecutively before you have to stop. Just write whatever you think of listening to the song. (I go over the time limit though.)</p><p>For now it's only EdgeWright. Later, I might add some other ace attorney ships, but nothing outside of that.</p><p>So I'm going to do it, because hey, it sounds interesting. Hope you enjoy.</p><p>None of these songs or the characters belong to me! Characters from the ace attorney series belong to Capcom, characters from the Professor Layton series belong to Level 5, and the songs have the artists labeled next to them. The characters from the Professor Layton series will only be from the crossover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Song 1: Welcome to my Life

Song: Welcome to my life by Simple Plan

Ship: Phoenix & Miles  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miles POV:

"You don't understand!"

"Miles I get it okay? It probably sucks really bad for you but you have to calm down."

"Why should I listen to you? You're the one that caused all this!"

"I'm sorry okay?"

"I don't want to hear it."

I run to my room and I slam the door behind me. Quickly I lock it tight and just in the nick of time too, because Phoenix jiggles the doorknob a second later before knocking on the door softly. 

Im not going to open it. He betrayed me. He will never know what I'm feeling right now. Why should I listen to him? He should just go back to his stupid lover probably already waiting for him downstairs, or in his apartment. 

I can't believe he did something so low and has the guts to come back here to confess and say he loves me. Well he thinks I'm overreacting, he thinks that he understands, but he doesn't. He doesn't know what it's like to get stabbed in the back by the person you love the most, the person you spent nearly half of your life with. The one person left in the world that you trust fully.

It's like the world is against me. Then again ever since 4th grade it has hasn't it? My life has been nothing but me clawing my way towards the light at the end of the tunnel, but never being able to reach it. There has been no one to help me or defend me for my whole adolescence and I guess I was wrong to think now is different. I wish I could be someone else, somewhere else. 

I loved him, heck I still love him, but he doesn't know what it's like. Even with Dahlia, at least he had Mia to hang on to has a comfort. I have no one, and I know he is probably already gone. I listen carefully and I hear no footsteps no breathing. Yes, he probably left. This feels like a kick to the stomach. Kicking me when I'm down, so to speak. 

Of course he left. I'm an idiot to hope he might have stayed. My eyes tear up and no matter how much I try to hold it back they spill out and I start to full out sob. I can't do this, I'm being crushed. No one is ever going to love me, I was a damned fool to let my guard down in the face of a lie. He never loved me. Those kisses, the cuddles together on the couch, they were all fake. I can't make this mistake anymore, I can't live anymore and I'm going to make sure of that.

Phoenix's POV:

Sitting on the couch I'm unhappily thinking about everything I could've done. I shouldn't have said anything, but I can't keep secrets from him, especially not one as big as this one. I just need to give him some space. He will recover and come back out when he is ready.

*BANG*

"Miles?"

I run down the hallway to the room I'd just knocked on a couple minutes ago. I jiggle the doorknob and it's open. Pushing the door open my eyes fill with tears and they start to fall almost immediately. I run over to him cradling his slumped corpse in my lap, ignoring the blood getting all over my clothes. I kick away the gun lying nearby and I shakily kiss his lips even if they don't kiss back. 

There's a note laying nearby and I pick it up to read it. 

'You don't know what it's like, but no matter what I love you. Even if you don't feel the same. I have to go I'm sorry, but I hate this feeling. This is the only way to make the pain go away. I'm so sorry and I love you.'

The tears trickling down my face drip onto the paper smearing the letters together. Shutting my eyes I can't stop my tears. I grab the gun and I hold it to my head.

*BANG*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's depressing but it's the first thing I thought of. Not all of these will be sad though so this little series of mine will not be that depressing. Anyways I hope you enjoy me writing without thinking. See ya.


	2. Song 2: One Day Too Late

Song: One Day Too Late by Skillet

Ship: PW & ME (it's the same ship as last time I know)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV: 

"I have to go Phoenix."

"I know..."

He has to leave. Why does he have to leave? He got called by someone in Germany to come help prosecute there. I believe it was his sister's acquaintance or his acquaintance or something like that. 

He's leaving tomorrow, and I want to enjoy every last second of it. However, there's one thing. These seconds are going to be too short for me to remember for the rest of my life. That's right, he is leaving the country, forever. He said that he was more needed there than he was here, and when I tried to convince him to stay he stayed stubborn. 

That was always something I liked a lot about him. Him and his stubbornness. It was a good thing to have in court after all. Now, I wish he didn't have that trait for just a moment. I'm staring at the clock as it slowly counts down the seconds, the minutes, the hours I have left with him. It doesn't stop no matter how much I pray for someone to just make time stop or something. 

Now I regret going on so many little trips for months alone, leaving him behind. He would want to come I know he did, but I never let him. I don't know why, but it sure seems really dumb of a reason right now. Right about now, his bags are all packed up and by the door. He said he'll sell the house he's currently living in when he returns to Germany. He said he'll take the furniture later as well unless I wanted something from there. 

Of course I did. I wanted all the memories of the time we had in that house forever, kept in a little bottle of a thing I call my memories. He suddenly sets down a plate in front of me. It was a small plate of some unknown pasta. His cooking skills are really great, almost unearthly really, but I can't enjoy it as much as I should. Maybe because this would be the last time I'd ever have him cooking for me. 

I can't help but pick at the food, not really hungry at all even if it was 10 at night. Miles walks up to me and sits down beside me. He wraps his arms around me as I turn to face him, tears in my eyes. I return the hug and I hold him tight. Pulling back I look him in the eyes and then I lean in slightly. He meets me halfway. While we're kissing each other I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him like I was earlier. I squeezed him tight hoping that when I opened my eyes he would still be there. 

After we break apart he silently continues to hug me. I melt into him enjoying how warm he is, like I was surrounded by a soft cuddly furnace. He drives off the cold, so warm even when the winter wind bites at his cheeks. 

I don't know when I fell asleep, I don't know how, but the next morning I awoke on my bed alone. The apartment was quiet, eerily silent. A flutter of paper or something gets blown off the side of the bed as a wind comes through the open window. Shivering I shut the window and I run around the apartment searching for him. After 5 minutes I figured out I was alone.

He was gone. His bags near the door was gone too. Silently tears fall down my face and I go back to my room and I lay down on his side of the bed. Putting my nose into the pillow I breathe in the scent, his scent. I miss him already. I didn't even get to say goodbye. Something white catches my eye and I pick up the thing that fell off the bed earlier. Holding it up I don't realize what it is at first, but then I drop it choking on tears.

His cravat. He left it here. Intentionally I'm sure. Sitting on my bed I cry softly holding it to my chest. That is until I'm covered in warmth and a familiar scent envelops me. 

"Plane got cancelled... I need a new flight..."

"Miles!"

I turn around and kiss him with all I've got. Maybe miracles do happen, I get more time to stay with him, I have more time to convince him to stay with me. I have more time to convince him I need him. Maybe I wasn't one day too late.


	3. Song 3: Super Psycho Love

Song: Super Psycho Love by Simon Curtis 

Ship: PW & ME  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV:

Tilting my head back I glare at the beautiful thing hanging in the sky. It's almost time. Why did this have to happen to me? I mean I remember faintly learning about how the moon affects the tides, but why does it have to be the turning point? Even worse, this might even be my last day alive. I've tried and tried, but I can't find the perfect one, or even one at all! 

Oh yeah, did I mention I'm a werewolf? Ah, the beauty of all my heightened human senses... Not. I'd kill to be rid of this condition of mine. However, for the past few months, I've been fighting long and hard for my life. I traveled all the way out here to Europe in the hopes of finding a... mate. 

So here's why I'm looking so desperately for someone to be stuck to for the rest of my life with. The basic idea is that I can live forever the way I am forever young, and heightened senses, so far as I transform every full moon and I find a mate by my 28th birthday. For months now, I've been searching near home for any werewolves just as desperate for life as I was. No luck whatsoever. So that's why I'm sitting in the middle of a forest somewhere in Europe waiting for my transformation. If I don't find someone today, I'm done for. 

The full moon is rising and I pray silently that Lady Luck will bless me tonight. Please, just help me find someone... Let me live. As the moonlight washes over me I can feel pain emanate from all over my body. The pain is blinding, and I can't help but scream as my bones pop and I change form. Thank god no ones around, they would call for help for sure. After awhile the pain recedes and I shuffle a bit, getting used to my new, yet so familiar form. No time to waste, I launch myself into a run through the forest at top speed, sniffing for a scent of anyone, specifically someone like me.

By midnight, I still haven't found anything, and my final night is slowly yet surely coming to an end. I can feel myself getting more and more desperate as I run through the forest, but I try to stay calm. Yet, how do you stay calm when your life is slipping away by the seconds? Finally, I collapse after 5 minutes of panicked running. Lying down on the soft grass I think about my fate. That's it. No one is anywhere close, and I'm going to die alone. In the beginning I knew it would end like this though didn't I? Why the heck did I even get my hopes up?

Suddenly I catch something. My ears perk and twitch towards the unnatural sound. Listening carefully I catch the sound. Through my muddled thoughts I can connect one thing to the sound. A howl, a sad mourning howl, a friend, a mate. Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I suddenly run at the speed of light towards the sound. I catch a scent a couple minutes later. It's nice, a dirt smell, yet a flowery kind of musky smell to it. The scent ends at a clearing where right in the middle a wolf basks in the moonlight, fur shining. 

The wolf is a stormy grey like storm clouds right before it rains. The tip of its tail and it's paws are a faint pink. Really, it's appearance is much like mine, except my body is white and my paws and the tip of my tail is a sky blue. When the wolf turns its head to look at me it snarls in my face, silvery eyes wary. Surveying the area, it's obvious this wolf is alone, and in human terms, 'single' and interested. It snarls again, a challenge for the dominance of this relationship, that is if I am interested. Immediately I snarl back and bare my teeth, getting into a fighting position. Heck yeah I'm interested! This is exactly what I was searching for, but I want the dominance in this, and I'm not going down without a fight. 

The wolf lunges at me at a high speed and lunge to hit it on the side. The impact makes him whoever he is lose his balance and fall onto the ground on his side. Yeah, it's a he. I noticed when he lunged, but you can be mates with the same gender apparently from what I heard. He struggles to get back up while I attempt to restrain him. Unfortunately, he's too strong and he leaps up hitting my jaw on his way up. Shaking it off, I lunge again, but he uses my strategy to bite me on the side of my leg before jumping away. Ugh, smart little dog here! I can feel blood leaking from my leg and onto the grass. Looking at the wolf for a second, I can see a flash of humanity going through his eyes as he stares at my wound. Taking the advantage, I leap on top of him, pinning him to the ground, my body acting as a cage. However, he doesn't fight it anymore. He curls into a ball under me and shuts his eyes, a sure sign of submission. 

I get off of him and I sit next to the wolf lying in a ball on the ground. He looks at me and I can see an uncanny understanding in his eyes that no wolf could have. Then, he gingerly went up to my face and touched noses with me. The scent fills my nose, and I lick at his mouth. It's weird, but to become 'mates' as a wolf, all you gotta do is share the spit. It doesn't happen when you're a human cause apparently you have a certain kind of spot as a wolf. I'm not going to get too into it. He faintly opens his mouth and I tangle tongues with him, exchanging spit. Most of this is pretty much grossing my human counterpart out, but my wolf side is still basking in its triumph. How strange this all is. 

We spend the rest of the night together, running together side by side, and we make a mutual promise to meet back at the clearing next full moon before daybreak. The next morning, I turn 28 and I didn't die. Thinking of the other wolf, I feel somewhat happy I stopped the wolf's impending death, even if he wasn't at the deadline yet. I stay in Europe for the couple of days until the next full moon. Apparently, I'm in Germany and while I can't speak a word of German, pointing and mumbling gets you a lot of places. 

Next full moon, I wear a t-shirt and running shorts and I run to the clearing. Maybe I can just transform here so I won't have to run here as a wolf. Suddenly I stop in my tracks. Someone is right there in the middle of the clearing. A very familiar someone.

"Edgeworth?"

He starts slightly and turns around to stare at me in shock. His expression is unreadable as he assessed me. 

"Wright, what are you doing here?"

"Uh no reason really, came to visit a friend here."

"Oh really? Who?"

"It's really hard to pronounce though."

"I'm sure I can get the picture."

"Uh...well...."

"Wright. What are you here for?"

Around that time, the full moon rises and I feel the sharp blinding pain rip through me again. In the last moments of my vision I can see Edgeworth holding his shoulders, not looking at me. The pain goes away faster this time, and I'm left to watch Edgeworth transform into his wolf form, to transform into my mate. When both of us are finally finished transforming we look at each other and I can see the understanding in his silver eyes. He gives me a faint smirk as a wolf and starts to run, and without thinking, I follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just saying, there needs to be more fanfics like the supernatural kind for this ship. I guess I just added another one to the tiny pile of them huh. Anyways see ya.


	4. Song 4: Heart Attack

Song: Heart Attack by: Demi Lovato

Ship: PW & ME  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3rd person POV:

Miles Edgeworth and Phoenix Wright yell at each other from across the courtroom in loud voices. Each hold a reason why they fight inside them, and nothing can stop them while they're here. However, no matter what they share one goal here in the courtroom. Justice, the truth, they both fight to bring it to light.

"OBJECTION!"

"HOLD IT!"

That being said, they are unstoppable in their quest for the truth. That is, when they're in the courtroom. Outside, well that is a whole other world. Phoenix can't help but notice how nice Edgeworth's suit looks in the light and the way his hair falls in his face, and damn is it distracting. He can't stop staring when he sees him out of court, and heck, he hardly takes his eyes off him in court anyway. Pretty much, he's accepted that he's fallen hard for his old friend. Sometimes he wonders if anyone really notices, but apparently no one does. 

Miles, he is a whole other story. He sees Wright across the courtroom, his blue eyes sparkling with determined light, his finger pointing confidently towards him when he spots a contradiction. No matter what, he can't help but feel like melting into the ground when he catches Wright staring at him, but he does well to hide the feeling. Still, no matter what he feels like, no matter how many rumors he hears, no matter how many times he finds solid evidence that Wright might like him, he can't. 'There is no way in hell I like my childhood friend' he always thinks to himself. His morals are very well intact, and while dating your friend is great and dandy for other people, it's very strange to him. There is also the part where the person he likes is also a guy.

Neither of the two are homosexuals, Phoenix has just about accepted he is a bisexual. However, Miles has accepted he is an asexual, which is pretty much the exact opposite. That's pretty much why Miles started to panic when the truth slammed into his face. There was no way that he could like a guy, Wright of all people, he was asexual. Apparently though, he was very, very gay, for Phoenix. Well good thing Phoenix felt the same way right? At any rate, they haven't told each other their sexualities, in fact they never even got remotely close to the subject for the sake of maintaining the conversation at all. 

Returning to the present, Phoenix slams his hand down on the table and yells:

"OBJECTION! Your Honor, this witness's testimony directly contradicts the evidence! She could not have left fingerprints on the dagger because she held it in a cloth!"

"OBJECTION! Do you have any evidence to support your claim?"

"Yes, I believe it is in the victim's car trunk! Your Honor! The defense requests that court may be extended one day for the defense to observe said car."

"OBJECTION! Your Honor, there is no need for an extension, the detectives can go check the car in a 45 minute break!"

"OBJECTION! Your Honor, they wouldn't know where to look. Please let the defense have one more day!"

"Hmm... Alright. The court will reconvene once again tomorrow morning. I hope the defense will have said cloth at the ready tomorrow to be presented. Does the prosecution have any objections?"

"...None, Your Honor."

"Court is dismissed!"

-20 minutes later-

Phoenix and Miles walk together across the park towards the victims car. While Miles walks and looks straight ahead, he can't help but turn his head slightly at times to glance at the spiky haired man walking next to him. Phoenix can't help but do the same thing, except he does it almost every 20 seconds. The whole walk from the courthouse to said park was filled with brief glances and the occasional meeting of eyes and small talk. 

Miles can't help but notice that they were walking under cherry blossom trees, all in bloom. The petals were falling around them as they walked, as well as the occasional flower when a particularly strong wind blew by. When he catches the sight of a flower falling right in his path, he can't help but reach out and catch it in his hand. Phoenix smiles at the soft look on Edgeworth's face. This was a soft side many people never got to see. When Edgeworth looks back shyly and hands him the flower, Phoenix gathers up the courage, and kisses him. On the cheek of course.

Miles loves every moment of that kiss. A spark goes through both of them, even though Miles doesn't really know that. He is in complete bliss, but he can't! Miles Edgeworth is an asexual, and he can't fall in love! At least that's what his mind is saying. His heart, well, it's saying something totally different. Anyways, well Miles freaked out.

Well, that's why Phoenix ended up taking a passed out Miles to the hospital. When Miles woke up, they both shared a nice little kiss, and did Miles freak out?

Of course.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I would've made him have a heart attack, but then that would have been too depressing. Hope you enjoyed! See ya.


	5. Song 5: I Hate Everything About You

Song: I Hate Everything About You by: Three Days Grace

Ship: NaruMitsu/EdgeWright  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edgeworth's POV:

"UGH!"

I hate this feeling. Maybe I should've already got used to it, but the feeling of the loss is still as bad as ever. Even if it was Wright, especially if it was Wright. It doesn't help that his snarky assistant decided to come rub it all over my face. Heck, he even joined in on it! Huh, maybe I should get used to that too, didn't he do that last time? What did he say before I left?

'See you next time Edgeworth.'

Who said there would be a next time? If my head is even on correctly, I know I'll get my assistant on the phone and make sure I get absolutely NO cases with him. I have the authority, and I'm not even supposed to prosecute cases with Wright as the defender anyway. Like the rule says: the prosecution is asked to refrain from prosecuting cases where the defense is a person they are involved with as a lover, spouse, child, etc.

However, my head is probably upside down, because no matter how much I tell myself that it would be for the best if I did, I don't. I win sometimes, it's not that I don't want to lose, the truth is most important. That would be rather nice though... Well, I am sticking with this defense attorney because we both seek the same thing, the truth. It's certainly not because we're friends, sometimes I question why I am still friends with him in the first place. Well, I get the exact same answer every time. Logic never seems to fail me as it stands. Then why does my logic keep on pointing me towards Wright?

-next week-

Phoenix's POV:

I'm not looking forward to seeing him again. Last time, he called us some things for just teasing him. What a drama queen. I don't get why I put up with him most of the time! He's such a jerk sometimes. Come on, Maya and I were excited after a trial and when we teased him about the loss, he just exploded. You would think he would have more self control. 

"Nick! It's time to head into court."

"Alright."

The second I get into position at the defense bench, I catch the eye of the man across from me. His eyes are a cold, steely grey, just like him. Still, I can't help but faintly smile at him and he returns it before starting the opening statement. 

-later-

"The defense requests a 30 minute break for the fingerprint analysis! Nothing more can be done until we have the results!"

"Alright. The court will now take a 30 minute recess for the fingerprint analysis. Court is adjourned!"

Maya follows me out of the courtroom and into the defendant lobby where she runs off to go talk to Gumshoe. I tell him to watch her and I walk out into the hallway eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Pity I don't have eyes in the back of my head, or I would've seen the man creeping up behind me. 

Edgeworth slams into me from the back and I hit the ground. He immediately straddles me and starts throwing the punches. All of them hit parts of my arms or chest. At least he has enough of his head to not make a scene of the black eye when I make it back to the courtroom. That is if I ever make it back in there outside of a body bag. 

He punches hard, and it hurts, but I can't do anything about it. His knees are pressing down on my wrists and my hand is quickly losing circulation. I find it hard to believe that no one has come by and found the prosecutor vs. defense attorney scene yet. More like prosecutor beating the poo out of the defense attorney actually. 

Out if nowhere the weight on my wrists lighten for just a second and I free my hands to push him off and start punching him. It feels nice to use him as my punching bag after he just used me as his. I don't know how long it was before he started coughing blood. Then, I stopped firstly because this was over the line, and second I didn't want to hurt him that much. Goddamn I need to fix him up.

I carry him bridal style to the nearest men's bathroom and seat him on the floor as I get a wet paper towel to wipe his face with. As I wipe traces of blood off of his face, his eyes slowly focus on me. They're not steel anymore, they're silvery and somewhat glazed. It looks almost as if he's half dead, a breathing corpse. 

Leaning in, I kiss him on the lips and he weakly kisses back. Just goes to show that I can really hurt him given enough time. I still don't get why no one came by and saw me beating him up or him beating me up. It was really more of the former than the latter however, he's the one that is crumpled on the floor. When we part, we stare into each other's eyes. Sea blue clashing with a silvery grey, like a storm brewing between our eyes. 

"I love you Miles."

"And I you."

"I went over the line, I'm sorry."

"I hate you, you know that? You must have given me a thousand bruises."

"Yeah, I know. Maybe this will give me an advantage, Prosecutor Prat."

"In your dreams Defense Douchebag."

"You're such a kid."

"I hate everything about you Phoenix Wright."

"I love you too Miles."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder, has there ever been a fanfic where these two beat each other up? Kind of curious because I don't think I'm the only one who thought of the idea. Anyways hope you enjoyed! See ya.


	6. Song 6: The Reason

Song: The Reason by Hoobastank

Ship: EdgeWright/WrightWorth/NaruMitsu  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV:

"Hey, Miles wake up."

Shaking him, he's as cold as ice. I'm almost afraid he's dead, is he dead? No, there is still white breath coming from his mouth. Kicking the door to my apartment open, I carry him inside. He's actually really light, it's kind of easy to carry him. Does he even eat? Also, he looks kind of pale. Right! Warmth, yeah warmth. 

Lying him down on the couch, I can't stop looking at him. Curled up on his side, breathing shallowly, he looks so fragile. His hair shimmers as the snow in it melts, and his lips are nearly drained of color, yet he is still beautiful. So much beauty in that one person, it's actually kind of unfair. It's hard to remember why I was even angry at him in the first place. 

Oh right, it was because he left. That dumb suicide note scared me to death, and just when I was about to get over him he comes back. He asked me to forgive him, but I said no. Why did I say no? It feels like he isn't even here the way I'm living right now, and honestly I hate it. Still my stupid pride, the pride I didn't know I had, didn't let me go back to him. Now that he's here, I would say sorry in a heartbeat. I would gladly forgive him if only he would just wake up.

"Miles, please wake up. It's me, Phoenix."

Why did he have to be such an idiot? Why did he have to go take a nap in a park right across from my apartment, in a blizzard no less? What if he caught hypothermia? What if he fell on something and broke his legs? Oh gosh, what if he died out there? My imagination and every possibility it's creating is driving me crazy. The one thing I can't stop thinking at this point is that I swear if he wakes up, then I will make sure he never pulls anything like this ever again. If he wakes up, then I will take him back, and I'll make sure he gets the best of me. I swear I won't let my stupid pride come between us ever again. Grabbing his cold hand, I rub it between my own and stare at his face.

"Miles, I'm sorry okay? I want you back, I'm sorry for pushing you away. I promise I'll stop putting my pride first just like you did, if you'll just take me back. You were the best I've ever had, you gave me a reason to keep my head up and shoulders back, to keep my crazy growing beard shaved. You gave me a reason to become who I am today. Maybe you did leave me alone, maybe you did trick me, but I am just so relieved you're not dead. Even if I didn't show it, I was okay, and I still am! Just...please don't die on me now... Please..."

Feeling the pulse on his wrist, I panicked when I felt the ragged weak pulses under his skin. Moving towards his head I press my fingers on the side of his neck, and I can feel the weak pulses under my fingertips. Believe me, they aren't getting any stronger. I grab the phone on the coffee table and I call the hospital.

"Hello?"

"Hey miss my friend, he's here right now and I found him in the park, and he's super cold, and I think he's going to die..."

"Woah sir, slow down. So your friend is cold and his pulse is weak?"

"Yes, can you send someone to get him?"

"I'm sorry, but in this storm, we can't."

"I just went out there a couple of minutes ago and I'm fine!"

"It's getting worse sir, you'll just have to keep him alive until it calms down enough for us to get a truck through."

"Is he dying?"

"From what you've told me now, he is dying from hypothermia although I am not completely sure."

"What can I do?"

"Just make sure he stays warm, and if he somehow wakes up, feed him hot stuff only, make him take a hot shower, just anything that keeps him warm."

"Thank you miss."

"No problem. Call again when the storm dies down a little and we'll send someone over immediately."

"Alright."

"Goodbye."

Rubbing Miles's hands, it seems to be colder than before. I go to get a blanket from my room and I when I get back, I swear he moved. Draping the blanket over him, he doesn't move, but suddenly silence envelops me. It's so quiet, save for the storm outside. Crap! Is he breathing? Putting my finger under his nose I feel a faint breath. Good, he's still in there.

Suddenly the power goes out, and the room gets dark. Shivering, I get the candles from the storage and light it up, carefully putting it on the dining table near the couch. It's only when I hold my hands near the fire for warmth when I realize that he must be freezing. Walking to him, I put a hand on his cheek and it's already cold, like the rest of the room. How do I warm him up now? Thinking of desperate measures, I snuggle next to him on the couch, wrapping my arms around his body.

Lying so close to him, I can see every detail of his face. From his soft lips, to his silvery bangs, to the little eyelashes fringing the bottom of his eyes, I can see everything. Sitting up a little, I sit him up a little in my grasp until his legs are across the sofa, and his upper body is in my lap. I wrap my arms around his torso and put my chin on his head. 

"You're going to be fine, we're going to be fine, everything is going to be okay. Miles, everything is going to be okay, but if you don't wake up... I'm not going to be alright."

"Well... It's a good thing I woke up then hm?"

"Miles! Oh god, are you okay?"

"Of course I am Phoenix, what is a little freeze now and then?"

"Miles, you're insane you know that? What were you even doing out there?"

"I was sitting, as far as I remember."

"Why were you even out there?"

"I'll tell you, but I'm cold. Can that wait just a little?"

"I know how to keep you warm."

Removing my chin from his head and releasing my hold just a little, I stare into those silvery eyes before pecking him gently on the lips. After that little 'peck,' I grab him in a bear hug and I murmur in his ear:

"Don't do dare do that again, or I swear I will die with you."

"Wouldn't dream of it."  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason this song, just listening to it made me sad. So a little sadness mixed in with this seemed appropriate I guess. Maybe more sad ones to come? All depends on the song. See ya.


	7. Song 7: Life In Color

Song: Life in Color by OneRepublic

Ship: NaruMitsu/EdgeWright/WrightWorth  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV: 

Our lives, the lives we live, they're all different. They start out blank, like a canvas before it's painted. When we leave this earth, the painting of our lives is finished and set away for a new one to begin. In the end, no matter how alike they may seem, none of those paintings are exactly the same. Bright, vivid emotions and deep dark regrets paint all of those canvases, yet none are exactly the same. However, many of those paintings have something in them, something that seems to bring them happiness along with their families and such. What brings this happiness always seems to vary, they're represented by objects that could only mean something to them alone.

Now what if you could see these canvases? Trapped deep inside them, the painters working away at their paintings, what if you could see the painting of their life? Well, I was born with such a gift. I can see the paintings of others and my own. Mine, it was vividly colored, with hues of red and yellows and blues and every color you can imagine in so many patterns. Still, I felt as if something was missing, like I was missing something vital that everyone else had but I didn't. 

That was, until I met him. When you're wandering around the blank white of your life and someone seems to make the world glow with color, well you know you got it bad. When I met Miles, whatever vividness was in my painting exploded into something brighter, happier. I felt like I found what I was looking for, and I think he did too. Then, suddenly he was gone and it felt like that part of me left with him. 

When we met again, when he was the Demon Prosecutor, no matter how cold he was I felt that piece return. I watched Miles' painting glow when he saw me, and I knew that I would stay by him no matter what because he had what I needed. It started nice, with coffee and walks around the city. Eventually, it escalated into something more. At night I'd always stay awake to watch him and the painting inside him. What was once a deep black and grey painting was slowly becoming vivid and I vowed to help make it beautiful again. I promised I wouldn't let him go without a fight.

That was one promise I wouldn't get to keep. 

Miles was gone again, erased from the world and my painting grew dark. That piece was gone again and I thought I would never get it back. At night I would cry to myself and put my head on his pillow to breathe in his scent. The cases I did went mechanically, and I hated to see the vivid paintings of those around me. When Maya asked about him with the light in her voice I couldn't stand it. I couldn't face the truth, that he was gone and that I would never see him again. 

Suddenly, he was back and I felt like I was suddenly lighter, as if a weight was off of my shoulders. It was like the storm had passed and I was drenched in sunlight again. I was angry that he left me, but I couldn't stop loving him. When he came to me asking for forgiveness, I couldn't say no. 

He left a lot after that though, and he took a piece of me with him every time. After the HazaKurain case, he finally decided to stay. We took walks, went to movies, and had late night chats that usually ended with one of us rolling on the floor with laughter. I wasn't scared to get attached anymore because I knew he wouldn't leave again. When he went on trips abroad, if I didn't have a case he would bring me along. If he went alone, I was always assured he would return. 

Thinking back, I remember that vow I made back then, to make his painting beautiful. I thought back then that I couldn't keep that promise anymore. Now, looking at the body of the sleeping man beside me, I can say that I could keep that promise. His canvas was vivid and beautiful, but tinged with darkness along the edges, the bad events that would never go away. Something that stood out though was the object painted in the middle, a gold and silver phoenix. 

Looking into mine, I observe how different it is now. Like Miles' it's tinged a dark grey along the edges but vivid in the middle. Now, there's a new addition to the painting right in the middle surrounded in light. A white cravat wrapped around a prosecutors badge. 

Maybe back then I didn't understand what those objects in people's paintings did to make them so happy. I didn't understand the meaning of those items and why I was missing one. Today in the present, I know what it means and I know where this person I need is. He is right here. My light, my love, is sleeping next to me, and I will never let him go.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! It's a reminiscence kind of thing, if you enjoy that kind of thing. Anyways, see ya!


	8. Song 8: Animal I Have Become

Song: Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace

Ship: NaruMitsu, EdgeWright, WrightWorth  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV:

I'm going to put it straight for you. Life as a vampire sucks. It's annoying having to sit on the couch all day and jump on unsuspecting teens at night. Sure, it's kind of fun flicking over garbage cans and throwing trash into cans from a whole building up, but things like that get old. Playing around with my telekinesis power is also interesting, but like I said, that stuff gets old. 

What's interesting is that I'm one of the only vampires who has this power. I'm saying one of the only because one other person has the same power as me. All vampires, well when they're born as humans they have some sort of thing in their hearts. If they get transformed into a vampire, then that thing you were born with determines your power. From what I heard from other vampires I've passed by, only one other vampire has the same power as you. If you do find that person, then apparently you're not going to be able to stay away from each other for very long. Something around the line of you'll get mentally damaged. If you met them as a human then you don't get all attached until you meet as vampires, then you're basically stuck together like glue. It's really complicated. 

So far, I haven't found that person and I'd rather not really. What if you're not even compatible with the person? Then I'm going to be stuck with someone I don't even like for the rest of eternity! From what I've seen from other vampires though, most get along pretty well. I'm not too worried about that. 

"Yo, Nick!"

"Hi Larry."

"Man, I think I found her! Sure, she doesn't have the exact same power as me, but you know maybe its close enough!"

"Larry, it has to be EXACTLY the same. She's not the one.

"Aww! Way to kill my mood!"

"Just stating the facts Larry."

"Have you found your soulmate yet?"

"Larry, it's not 'soul mates' its just you having the same power as someone else."

"Whatever dude! Hey there's someone over there! HEY!"

"What are you doing? They could be a human for all you know!"

"No way dude, I just saw them jump on top of a house."

"I see."

"I'm going to go say hi!"

"Larry hold on!"

Larry dashes at the speed of light after the other vampire and I have no choice but to follow. Larry has been my friend for awhile. We met when we were still humans, and when he begged me to turn him, after awhile I gave in. He has the power to create really strong winds, like mini hurricanes. If I know him well enough, he's going to blow that other vampire towards him.

When I finally catch up to him, he's excitedly questioning some guy at the bottom of the hill. I can't get a good look because Larry is jumping up and down and creating mini tornadoes in the air. Did he seriously just find his eternity buddy? Then suddenly the other vampire seems to be saying something and then a rock the size of his fist flies through the air and hits Larry in the back of his head. Larry being Larry, he gets knocked out. 

Irritated and angry at this particular vampire I speed down to the bottom of the hill to yell at the guy. When I get to the bottom I face the other guy down, who seems to be surprised. He is actually kind of... cute. He has steely gray eyes and darker gray hair that curves in bangs towards his face. His face seems to be paler than mine, with a small nose and full light pink lips to match. At this point I'm kind of reconsidering hitting him, but I can't just let him knock Larry around without some sort of punishment!

Summoning my power, I focus on the knife inside Larry's jean pocket. It immediately flies out and positions itself at the guy's neck. The guy's eyes just widen and his lips start moving soundlessly. Then he finally speaks and it's not what I was expecting. 

"No way. No bloody way this is happening."

His voice is smooth and somewhat low in tone. Also, he's looking at me like I just grew a third head. Slowly, he raises his hand in a calming motion and steps away from the knife. With a flick of his hand, suddenly the knife is taken out of my control and it floats back to Larry's pocket. Now I know why he's looking at me like that. We share a power, and now a life. 

He's right. No way. I just found the dude I'm going to spend eternity with through my idiot of a friend. I'm going to have to tell him when he wakes up that I found my so called 'soul mate', and that he's the cutest guy I've ever seen. Maybe eternity wouldn't be so bad with a friend after all, he looks like he could be nice to hang out with.

"I-I have something to do, I have to go now, it's urgent. So I'll uh see you around okay..?"

He runs in the opposite direction, and as he gets farther away I feel some sort of invisible grip pulling me towards him. When I don't move, it gets tighter and tighter until it's nearly painful. When the pain actually starts in my chest, it doesn't get tighter anymore, which I interpret to be that he stopped running. Through the pain, I run a little in the direction he was going and the pain eased up a little. Using my powers I write a note on the notepad Larry keeps in his jacket pocket and leave it on his stomach before I run after him. I just explained what happened briefly and that I'll see him around. 

Going by instinct, I follow his trail through the buildings, the houses, the parks, until I finally see him curled into a ball next to a pond. Any random hobo walking by could just assume he was another hobo just taking a snooze by the pond. His grey hood is over his head and you can't see much otherwise of his curled up position, and the clothes he's wearing. 

Approaching him, I sit next to him and observe his face. He's awake alright, his eyes staring off into space. I throw stones into the pond watching the ripples until I feel someone's weight on my shoulder. The guy is sitting up and leaning casually on my shoulder like we're old friends.

"Hey."

"Hello."

"Guess we're stuck together huh?"

"I suppose so."

"I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'll start. My name is Phoenix Wright and I'm currently 100 years old, kind of a young age for a vampire."

"My name is Miles Edgeworth... I'm currently 100 years old, same as you." Wow, what a coincidence. I guess its good, because if we were a hundred years apart, well you always get along better with those your age. Also, I would be kind of grossed out if I thought a 200 year old guy was cute. He just reminds me of someone...

"Okay, well how about 20 questions?"

"Alright."

"I'll start. What age were you turned?"

"24. I attempted suicide and some vampire saved me from death. What age were you turned?"

"26. I lost everything, and I lost someone I really cared about 2 years before. I couldn't take it so I tried to suicide, but I got saved. Why did you attempt suicide?"

"Something I wold rather forget happened, and the stress, the regrets, all the secrets I was keeping, well it became too much. I couldn't stand it anymore, I had to go. What were you as a human?"

"A lawyer. A defense attorney. What were you?"

"Same. However, I was a prosecuting attorney. Who was this person you lost two years before your turning?" He reminds me so much of him, it's unreal. Phoenix, don't break down, you can't break down in front of him.

"He was someone I cared about a lot. We knew each other as children, and he meant a lot to me. He still meant a lot to me, but I never had the guts to tell him what I felt. Then, he was gone and I never got that chance. Did you have people that cared about you?"

"That's a sad story Phoenix, I'm sorry for you. As for your question, as a child I had a father who loved me and friends that cared about me. My mother died when I was younger. From the age 9 through 24 I didn't have anyone and at 24 I met someone that became my friend. What do you mean by what you felt?"

"I liked him. As more than a friend, but I was too scared to say anything. Why did you suicide if you had someone that cared about you?"

"He was a great friend, but I had some unnecessary feelings about him. He was also part of the event I'd rather not remember. Did you have any intention of telling him?"

"I was going to. After some thing that happened, I was going to tell him, but I was too late. What do you mean by unnecessary feelings?"

"Unease, uncertainty, and some level of love for him. Have I met you before?"

"Aren't those kind of necessary? Anyways I think we may have met. You remind me of someone I used to know. By any chance, is that incident you don't like to talk about called DL-6?"

"How did you know Wright?" No way. Everything makes sense now. Why they didn't find the body, the lack of blood anywhere. Why people thought he wasn't actually dead for awhile because of that lack of evidence.

"It's been 76 years since I last saw you Edgeworth."

"Wright?"

"Yeah, you remember me right? I remember you. You were why I became an attorney, my friend, and after DL-6 was solved you committed suicide."

"I'm really sorry Wright, but I just told you why okay?"

"You were listening to me weren't you? You just went off and died before I could..."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, we're here now."

I look into his silvery eyes as we sit facing each other and I lean in to capture his lips in a chaste kiss. His breathing stops for a couple of seconds and when I pull away his cheeks are a light pink. Carefully he leans in this time and when our lips meet I can't help but think that it was all worth the wait.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to lie, I went over the limit time. The time ended when Edgeworth knocked Larry out, and I just didn't want to leave it at that. I do hope you enjoy this. It's kind of similar to my werewolf one I think, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Alright see ya.


	9. Song 9: Here Without You

Thank you everyone, for the support. I don't think I would still be writing if no one appreciated it. So thank you. 

Song: Here Without You by 3 Doors Down

Ship: EdgeWright/WrightWorth/NaruMitsu  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV:

I can't see anything, blinding lights flash up and down my vision. From whatever consciousness I can recover, I can feel myself being moved. The humming feeling underneath me, the occasional bumps from things on the ground, yes I'm being moved. People are shouting at each other and someone constantly keeps on feeling my wrist. I want to just shout and scream at them to stop, to tell me what's happening to me, but I can't. I just can't move. 

What happened to me? I can't remember anything, it's just so blurry. Everything is so blurry. I'm so tired and I want to sleep, but I just can't. Something is keeping me awake, someone is grounding me. Then, it's all gone. The light, the sounds, the movement, everything is mercifully still. Silence envelops me and I fall into a pitch black oblivion. 

When I next am conscious enough to observe my surroundings, I can hear soft choked sobs. They're trying to be concealed, I can tell because it sounds muffled. Soft hands touch my face, putting my cheeks into their palms. Their thumbs stroke my cheekbones and the sobs intensify the more they do so. Those mournful sobs, they're so familiar, but I can't place the source. If I could, I would open my eyes and tell them I'm alive, that they don't have to cry anymore. If I could open my eyes, I'd wipe the tears away and run my hands through their hair, but I can't. Helplessly I sit there feeling soft slender fingers run through my hair and touch my face. Those heartbroken sobs makes my heart ache. 

I don't know when I slipped away, but when I was back to my senses, I could open my eyes. The world is hazy and I look around, disoriented. Using my hands, I try to push myself up, but a hand pushes me down. A figure in blue pokes at my monitors, I believe they're a nurse. I open my mouth to say something, but my voice cracks miserably. When a notepad and pen is dropped into my lap, I quickly start to write.

'Where am I?' My writing is shaky and sloppy, it's almost as bad as Larry's writing. Larry... My friend from childhood, but there was someone else...

"You're in the hospital Phoenix, you and your friend both."

'My friend?'

"I'd think so, you seemed closer than that though in my opinion."

'Who?'

"You don't remember...? Never mind. It's no one. Just relax and go back to sleep."

With that, the nurse leaves before I could say another word. Looking around me once more, the world sharpens into focus. There's a wall to the right of my bed, with flowers and teddy bears sitting on a table. From what I can see, they say 'Get Well Soon!' To my left, there's a curtain separating my half of my room from someone's other half of the room. From the slight crack in the curtains, I can make out some sort of whip looking thing sitting on the end of a hospital bed. A dim light can be seen through the curtains and soft classical music emanates from behind the curtain. It's soothing and I eventually fall asleep once more.

 

When I wake again, I'm greeted by many happy voices. The room is bright, and all my friends are standing around. The curtains outside are dark, is it already night? Maya and Larry are the first to notice I'm awake, and they quickly shout my name. As all of my friends crowd around me talking to me, I feel like I know who I am again. I am Phoenix Wright, defense attorney, and these are my friends. Yet, through everything I feel as if something important is missing. The emptiness inside me is frightening and my throat still feels constricted. Then out of the curtains on the other side, out comes someone so familiar. His clothes are simple, a t-shirt and jeans, both rumpled. He has beautiful shining gray eyes and silver hair in bangs around his face. I know I've met him before, but I still can't place my finger on who he is. All I know is that the room just brightened, that things are finally complete. 

When he appears everyone welcomes him and hugs are exchanged. He looks so happy when he sees me and I feel some sort of pride that I could make his eyes light up that way. That thought is cut short when he leans in and kisses me on the lips briefly. Everyone is 'awwing' over us, and I don't know why. Truthfully, I loved that kiss, every second of it. If I wasn't so weak, then I would have just reached up and dragged his head back to snog him silly. However, I don't know who he is... and I want to know who it is that I feel so strongly about. 

"I-I'm sorry to cut you off, but... who is he?"

Everyone turns to me with shocked faces. The light in the guy's eyes snuffs out, like someone just blew out a candle. His eyes show immense pain, but his face turns blank. Stiffly, he stands up and walks away from me towards the curtain leading towards the other half of the room. Desperate to keep him here, I call after him.

"Please stay, I just want to know who you are."

"I'm no one Wright, just forget anything ever happened." 

With that he disappears through the curtain and Fransizka quickly stands up and dashes after him. Gumshoe follows soon after. Everyone else stays in place staring at me and averting their gazes when soft sobs can be heard from the other side of the curtain. Those sobs, the soft slender hands, I know who they belong to now. The worst part is, I know I'm the cause.

When everyone left, I don't know. The time after that is hazy, a blur of consciousness and unconsciousness. I didn't see the man again, no matter how much I wanted to. All I know is one day Gumshoe came to visit me saying he was going to take me home today. Looking towards the left, the curtain is parted and I can clearly see the bed on the other side. My heart skips a beat when I see the bed is empty. I duck behind the curtain on the other side to change and I see gifts stacked on the matching table. Carefully, I scan the cards and I see a name written neatly on every single one.

'Get well soon Edgeworth!'

'Get better Mr. Edgeworth!'

'Nick needs you Mr. Edgeworth!'

Edgeworth... Then the truth crashes down on me like weights. All the memories flood my mind, the shouts in court, the way he gets irritated when he loses, and all those times he laughed until his sides hurt when I told a joke. I also remember his expression when I first asked him out and the way his face looked just the other day. Blank, and expressionless.

Bursting out in my regular clothes from the curtain, Gumshoe looks at me and half-heartedly grins. Together we walk to reception and I'm finally signed out. Gumshoe drops me off at home and instead of driving away, he gets out and follows me to my apartment. When I reach my door I try to say bye, but Gumshoe frowns and tells me to get changed. 

"Why?"

"I-I didn't tell you yet did I pal? Well, we gotta go the f-f..."

"What is it?"

"The f-f-funeral."

"What?! Whose?" 

"Mr. Edgeworth's pal..."

I stand there in shock before I break down in sobs. Gumshoe hugs me to his chest and I continue to sob. Now, I really remember everything. The late night walk down the sidewalk, the drunk driver that swerved and slammed into us, the blood pouring from his wounds and me begging him to open his eyes. That night at the hospital, he looked fine didn't he? He was walking! He was in his regular clothes and he just looked so happy... What happened?

Is if in slow motion I vaguely remember getting into a black suit and getting driven to the graveyard where a small number of people were gathered. People made speeches about how nice he was on the inside, what a great prosecutor he was, how much of a loss it was. When I was asked to make a speech I was numb, I couldn't speak. As soon as everyone finally left, the truth slowly sank in. 

I'd never see him again. I'd never hear him laugh and yell objection at me from the other side of the courtroom. Miles Edgeworth was dead and gone, and I was cruelly left behind. Someone crashed into us, and someone murdered him that fateful night. A person took his life and I swear to every living entity on this earth that I will find them, and when I do they will pay for what they have done.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How'd Edgeworth die? Well he seemed alright, but the doctors didn't notice internal damaging. The day he was to be released he collapsed and the doctors couldn't save him. Hope you enjoyed, see ya.


	10. Song 10: Whataya Want From Me

Song: Whataya Want From Me by Adam Lambert

Ship: NaruMitsu/WrightWorth/EdgeWright

Time Period: Right After DL-6  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edgeworth's POV:

"Edgeworth, you need to stop moping around so much! It's over, you can finally put this behind you!"

"Wright, I am not moping for heavens sake. I'm merely... adjusting. Don't think I'm not grateful for what you've done for me. I truly appreciate it, but do you really expect me to be flying off the walls?"

"Well no, I don't want you to be that excited and happy, wait no that's not what I meant..."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't want you to sad about this, but I don't want you to be that happy either."

"You're telling me to be neutral about this and act like nothing happened. Yes, I'm just going to ignore that my whole perception of my life for 15 years has been proven wrong."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. I'm not saying you should act like this didn't happen, I'm trying to say that-"

"Wright seriously! What do you want from me? Wouldn't you want to be left alone if you were going through a hard time?"

"I wouldn't take it out on everyone that I see!"

"Is that what you think I'm doing? I've been perfectly civil to you and everyone else until you came in to lecture me on how I handle my problems!"

"Friendly, Edgeworth! I want you to be more friendly okay?"

"You of all people should know I was NEVER social anytime of my 24 years of life! Now if you're done playing therapist then I suggest you vacate my office."

"Fine! Whatever! I get it, you don't trust me enough. You don't think I'm doing this for your own good, that I'm trying to hurt you too. Well alright then, I'll stop bothering you. I'll see you in court Edgeworth."

I absently push my pen across the papers on my desk as the door quietly clicks shut behind him. Who does he think he is to come in here and lecture me about how I should feel? Moping? For a fact, I'd think he would mope much more if he found out someone like Miss Fey wasn't who he thought she was. Actually, he probably would be so much more cautious than he is now. Maybe he'd stop and think before he blurts out something.

DL-6. The incident that changed my life forever. My father, the victim, he died from someone's intense desire for revenge. One could say he died from the actions caused by the man's wrath. That man was my mentor and caretaker for the following 15 years. Then I became a prosecutor and next thing I know, Wright is sending letter after letter to me asking what happened. At the time, my mentor would burn them all, but I didn't care much. Suddenly, there he is at the other end of the courtroom defending his client. I suffered my first defeat, but honestly, I felt more confusion than anything. When I got accused just mere days ago, Wright defended me and now this.

I'm just confused. It's difficult to change what you think in such a short amount of time, abruptly no less. Indeed, your morals develop over time to form who you are. They're like habits, they're hard to change, but memories? When you believe that you killed your own father for 15 years, it's going to be hard to think otherwise now. Maybe it's impossible to think otherwise now, after so many years. You could say I'm conflicted in a sense. 

It's not that I don't trust him, I do. Why would I put my life in the hands of someone I didn't trust fully? No, I'm just sick of being what everyone wants me to be. It has practically nothing to do with Wright. He isn't the one that I don't trust, it's me. For a fact, I actually enjoy his company a bit. It's a difference from the scores of people talking to me only about work related matters.

I hope he doesn't believe all this is his fault, and this doesn't end this so-called friendship of ours. 

-two weeks later-

He hasn't come back to visit me after that. We haven't had any cases together, and I haven't heard from him since. I don't blame him, I'm surprised he even put up with me for so long. However, my paperwork pile has decreased significantly since then, and it's a relief. 

*BOOM*

"Mr Edgeworth sir!"

"What is it Detective?"

"Chief Prosecutor Skye has requested you be at the New Year festivities tonight sir!"

"Wasn't January 1st last week?"

"Yes, but the precinct has finally got enough time away from cases to hold this party, and you should come!"

"Detective, I have much work to do. Please tell Ms. Skye my regrets."

"Mr. Edgeworth please!"

"I'm sorry Detective, but like I said, I have work to do."

"Just one night, please sir!" I feel so cold all of a sudden...

"...Alright."

"Yes?"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"Thank you sir!"

"Don't thank me, it's nothing."

"I'll see you tonight then!"

"Yes, see you tonight."

As the door swings quietly shut behind the detective I can't stop the chuckle that escapes my mouth. His enthusiasm must be rubbing off on me. Now there's the matter of finishing my mountain of papers before tonight...

-that night-

I feel under dressed. Everyone around me is in bow ties and long flowing dresses, with the exception of Detective Gumshoe, still in his work uniform. I'm wearing simple black slacks, my work shoes, and a dark grey sweater. All night the excited detective has been dragging me along as he runs all around talking to all of his friends in the precinct. While I'd rather stand around and leave him to his constant chatter, he won't let me go for a second. Finally after 30 minutes I excused myself to the bathroom, but instead I drifted towards a darkened corner to relax. Soon, a figure drifts towards me.

"Prosector Edgeworth."

"Hello, Chief Prosecutor Skye."

"Why aren't you over there with everyone else? You seem so lonely, I worry sometimes."

"Thank you for the concern, Ms. Skye, but I'd feel more comfortable here."

"Edgeworth, just try to enjoy yourself tonight alright? I know what you're going through is tough, but just let go for a little tonight. Set your problems aside for a couple of hours. You have a nice long life left to think about those things."

"Thank you Ms. Skye, I'll rejoin the party in a couple of minutes, I just need some time."

"Don't wait too long, they'll start to wonder if you came at all."

"I won't, I'll see you Ms. Skye."

"See you around Edgeworth."

As the Chief Prosecutor leaves, I lean against the wall for a couple of minutes before drifting back towards the crowd. Out of nowhere, Detective Gumshoe suddenly grabs my hand and steers me through the crowd. I just let him drag me to wherever he wants to go until I see exactly what he's steering me to, or to say, who. 

"Detective, what is he doing here?"

"I invited him sir! I thought you'd like to see him here."

"Not particularly..."

The detective runs up to Wright and mercifully let's go of my hand to give him a hug. Then the two exchange greetings and chatter endlessly about who-knows-what while I silently stare out of a nearby window. Maybe I should just go back to my corner until the party ends. Right as I'm about to move to disappear into the crowd, the detective decides to remember I existed.

"Hey! Mr. Edgeworth sir! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go find someone to socialize with, since you're obviously occupied."

"You should talk to some more people Mr. Edgeworth! How about you start with Mr. Wright here?

"Hey, Edgeworth."

"Wright."

"I didn't think you'd come."

"To be fair, neither did I."

An awkward silence envelops us after the formal greetings and the detective looks at us confused. Then he scratches the back of his neck nervously. 

"Heh... Well I guess maybe your socializing skills need a bit of work huh?"

"What do you expect?"

"Well, I don't know start a conversation about the weather or something!"

"You can't see anything because it's practically pitch black outside. Are you happy now detective?"

"Well, try elaborating a bit more, just be less you, if you understand what I mean sir."

"Excuse me? Be less me? I am myself as far as I know."

"Just be less stiff and loosen up!"

"I...can't."

"Come on, it isn't that hard! Here, just loosen up your shoulders..."

"Get your hands off me detective!"

I hit the hands on my shoulders off and I wriggle out of his grasp while Wright gapes in shock. Making sure to put as much fury into my voice as possible I say:

"I'm bloody sick of being whatever everyone wants me to be. What do you want from me? I give my best and it's never damn enough for any of you! So I suggest that you two go right on with your conversation without a buzz-kill to get in your way."

"Sir! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Edgeworth-"

Without listening to another word I whirl around and I mold into the crowd of people. I can feel unshed tears brimming at my eyes, but I can't let it go, I can't show any sign of weakness to anyone. I have to be someone no one can get to, someone that no one can hurt. Even two of the closest people to me are telling me what I should and should not be. I can't let anyone know how much this hurts me...

Pushing open the door that lead outside onto the street, I walk down the sidewalk. I know there's a park nearby that's about a couple minutes walk away. Later, I'll come back to drive on home, but not now. When I do reach the park, it's empty. Sitting down at the base of a tree, I pull my knees up to my chest and I put my head on my knees. I let the unshed sobs go knowing no one would be coming around anytime soon. 

I don't know long I'm sitting here, but I think it's been about a couple of minutes, maybe hours, I don't care. Then I feel a comforting stroking feeling as someone combs their hands through my hair. Normally, I would've slapped that hand away, but it feels nice and I just need something like that right now. They keep on running their fingers through my hair gently, and eventually my sobs start to quiet. When I'm silent, those fingers slide out of my hair and then arms wrap around my shoulders. I move my face away from my knees and quickly put it on the persons shoulder. At this point, I'm on my knees, with someone hugging me from the front, and my face buried in the cloth on their shoulder. 

As much as I'd like to stay this way, feeling warm and safe, I have to break away from the embrace. I stay on my knees, and I keep my head turned towards the ground. I'm startled by a very familiar voice.

"Edgeworth, are you okay?"

"Wright...?"

"Yeah, are you okay? You just ran off and Gumshoe and I couldn't find you anywhere. I remember walking by here, so I came back and well... You're just sitting here making sounds like a dying animal under a tree."

"Why'd you look for me? Most people would have just left me to rot."

"Well, because I'm not most people and you aren't either. I'm not going to give up on you."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you... You didn't deserve it."

"It's okay, people lose it sometimes."

"Thank you. For not giving up on me."

"Of course. Here, let's head on back."

He holds out a hand and I take it without hesitation. As we walk together hand in hand back down the sidewalk, I feel a sort of peace. A peace of mind I haven't had for a long time. For once, I feel as if I can put my trust into the man next to me. If I need help, I can ask him and I know that he won't let me down, and I'll try to do the same.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed. (I went over the limit again.) See ya.


	11. Song 11: Alone and Forsaken

Song: Alone and Forsaken by Social Distortion

Ship: NaruMitsu/EdgeWright/ WrightWorth

Time Period: AU  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV:

"Please! I didn't do anything wrong! Why are you doing this to me?!"

My captors don't answer, they tie my hands and feet together and gag me. I'm trying to scream, to make any noise, but they look at me with cold expressions. Roughly, I'm thrown into the back of a wagon with a handful of other people, but there's something wrong. The problem with these people is that they don't seem to be breathing. Yes, I'm in a wagon with a truckload of dead people, corpses so to speak. 

How did it all come to this? One day, I'm just living my life as a servant for the Feys, and when the Fey's animals start to die, I'm to blame. Suddenly people are bursting in and pointing guns between my eyes, telling me to get on my knees. Even now, when I'm tied up laying down in the back of the wagon helpless, I can see them warily watching me. All around me, the early morning air rings with the words I've already gotten sick of. 

"Witch! Warlock!"

I'm no witch. No matter what they think, I'll know that deep down. The death of the animals was purely coincidental, and I was only blamed because I was the servant. What kind of world do I live in really, where people are blamed without the chance to prove themselves? Yes there are trials, but my verdict will be guilty. This I already know. No one suspected of being a witch ever gets acquitted, ever. 

The sudden collision of my body to the ground shocks me back to reality. Before I can even protest, I'm grabbed by the rope binding my hands and dragged along the ground. From what I can see, I'm getting dragged towards some sort of stone house. Small windows with bars over them line the sides of the walls. A jailhouse, built for those who are proclaimed guilty. However, we pass the jailhouse and then I'm dropped in front of a tall wooden house. I glare at the guy who was dragging me with as much ferocity that I could, but he ignored me and just walked to the front door. He knocks, and the other guy peers at me while he does, poking me occasionally with his shoe. As if I'm some sort of bug, not a human being, it's infuriating.

Hearing the door open, I hear the guy who dragged me speaking to someone else. I can only catch some of the conversation. 

"I caught a witch, there he is, right there..."

"Doesn't look dangerous..."

"Don't care..."

"Send someone to make sure he doesn't die before the trial..."

"You do that..."

The guy at the door and the guy who was poking me both go inside the house, but the door doesn't shut. I hear soft footsteps as someone else approaches me. Gentle hands silently wrap under my shoulders and pull me to a sitting position, leaning against a pole. The person comes back to sit in front of me. It's a guy, a servant I think, by the way he looks. His clothes are simple and somewhat tattered, much like mine except less dirt. Gray bangs frame his face as he carefully observes me, checking for wounds. When he finishes, he walks away and brings back a bucket full of water and a scooper to drink the water with. 

Reaching around the back of my head, he loosens the gag which lets it drop to my neck. Glancing briefly at the door, he also unknots the rope binding my hands together. Putting the bucket and scooper next to me, he gestures for me to drink. While I'm drinking, he leans in warily and murmurs something so soft only I could have heard. 

"Why are you here?"

Equally soft, I murmur back, glancing around to check for any sign of passers-by. "I'm accused of being a witch."

"...are you?"

"No, of course not." He frowns at me for a second and pulls up the sleeve of my right arm, and checks my shoulder. After a couple of seconds, he pulls the sleeve back down.

"My friend, if you will allow me to... If you are telling me the truth, I can save you from your fate."

"What?"

"What is your name?"

"Phoenix. Phoenix Wright."

"Well Mr. Wright, I am offering you a way to escape death for a crime you didn't commit."

"How?"

"Don't ask me how. Accept or decline, the choice is yours."

"Wh-" Right then I hear a soft murmur of voices and footsteps approaching the door.

"Quickly! They're coming! Answer me now!" He's already retying my hands back together, and he's getting ready to put the gag back. Those gray eyes are showing panic on a deadly level.

"Yes, please save me..." He smiles faintly and he quickly reties the gag and leans in to whisper in my ear. 

"Don't worry, you've made the right choice."

-next day-

The trial went as expected. A number of supposed 'witches' were tried, including me. Of course all of us were guilty, guilty, guilty. My execution is due for tomorrow, hanging. In my dark damp cell, I can hear those next to me begging for their life. They're saying they'll do anything to be free, they promise they haven't done anything wrong. I wish I could help them, but my life is in danger as well unless... 

That gray eyed stranger, he promised me he would save me from death. How would he be able to do that? He can't just smuggle me out of prison, and trying to get me off the noose would result in his death as well. Most likely in a more painful way. The thought of him dying in the attempt to save me is painful to think of. I don't even know the guy, but I already care about him. Still, how?

Also, why me of all people? He could have given the option to any of the dozens of people here, but he offered it to me. Remembering what he said to me that day before he left: "You've made the right choice." Did I? Did I really make the right choice, putting my life into the hands of a beautiful stranger?

Curling into a ball on the hard floor, I start to drift off. That is, until I hear my cell door unlocking. My eyes snap open fast enough to see a guard pull a cloth bag over my head and I feel him tie my hands and feet together. He drags me along the ground, and throws me into only what I can assume to be a wagon. As the guard drives, he yells over his shoulder at me.

"Hey, I guess you're going back where you came from earlier kid, free noose never got used, and hey the lucky candidate is you! Cheer up! You're going home to daddy down there, aren't you happy?"

Laughing manically, he stops talking and he keeps on driving. Inside the bag, choked sobs escape my lips, and my eyes tear up with hot tears. He can't save me, not with this unexpected turn of events. For all he knows, I'm still back at the jailhouse awaiting tomorrow. After an indeterminable amount of time, the wagon stops and I wait for the impact of the ground. It doesn't come. Instead, the ties on my legs are loosened enough for me to walk. Someone helps me to my feet and they start feeling around the bag around my head, most likely making sure I can't see anything. I don't expect to see a knife cut open the mouth area. A familiar voice filters through the bag softly, and I want to cry with relief.

"Sshhhh... Stay calm, I've got you."

I'm walked along the ground blindly, with the stranger gripping me by the shoulders and guiding me. From what I can hear, I can tell I'm walking through a crowd. Whispers and hisses of 'witch' and 'warlock' are flickering through the crowd. After a couple of minutes of walking, the stranger harshly says: "steps." I slowly walk up the steps and stand where he guides me to. Silence, and then I feel his thin arms wrapping a rope around my neck. As he leans in to tie the knot behind my head, he suddenly worms his lips through the tear in the bag and kisses me. 

It's sweet, and I start to feel like I'm losing myself in it, until suddenly I'm seeing through a whole new perspective. I see someone's body drop from the noose and onto the ground. The person who I'm seeing through quickly takes the bag off of the person's head. It's me? The person looks exactly like me! I want to say something, but I find I can't move, like I have no control over anything. A voice, the stranger's voice says something and the conversation is faint.

"He's dead sir, probably from asphyxiation."

"We should get rid of the body then."

"I'll bury him in the woods, maybe hang his body in a tree."

"Go do that Miles, I'll see you later tonight."

Then, the person scoops up the supposed me and hauls it over their shoulder. They walk a long time, until they reach a clearing and they lay the body on the ground, on its back. The person leans in to kiss the body, and I feel myself getting sucked back into something. Suddenly, I had control over all my limbs again, and the stranger's head was above my face. Sitting up, I start to scoot away from him. The stranger stands up and starts to follow me, but I hold a hand out, stopping him. 

"You're... A witch..."

"Indeed, I am." He smiles faintly at me, and his eyes turn a light shade of purple. The moonlight makes his skin glow. Pulling up his right sleeve, a sign is engraved on his skin. A balance scale, held by a sword. 

"You... You're the one that's been getting all those people wrongly accused!"

"No, I'm not. I wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, nor accuse them of any wrongdoing I have done. All I have done is save you from your death, you are free to leave."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Let me ask you a question. Why are you acting like them all of a sudden?"

"Them?"

"Those that were waiting for you to be executed. Those that think all witches are bad and should be killed."

"I-I'm sorry, I'm grateful for you saving my life, but..."

"Fine, I know you're scared. It's okay. Here, take these. It's not safe for you here anymore. Go to the next town, start a life, be happy." He hands me a bag full of supplies and money for a long journey. Then he turns and he starts to walk back towards the town.

"Wait!" He turns back to look at me curiously. Walking up to him, I slowly press my lips to his, this time just feeling the bliss, not the pull. The moonlight shines down on us and after timeless seconds, I pull away to smile at him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Phoenix, maybe I'll see you again, one day. In this life or the next."

"Goodbye Miles."

"Farewell Phoenix."

Then he walks away, and I watch as his back gets smaller and smaller in the distance, heading back towards the town. One last time I see him turn, and he waves. I wave back and I turn to walk in the opposite direction.

-next year-

Watching the violet sparks slowly fade away in the darkness I laugh. More sparks fly around the ceiling, all violet, some a light burgundy. The small light show in my own room is simple, yet beautiful. Moonlight shines in through the small window on the side of the room. It lights on his skin and it glows, making him seem unearthly. My boyfriend continues to fire little sparks from his fingertips, up into the ceiling. Grinning, he turns to look at me, but his face turns slightly more serious when my eyes meet his gray ones. I pull him towards me and he puts his head on my chest. 

"You know, exactly one year ago you left me alone, to start again."

"Yes, but you never did move on, did you?"

"I have moved on now, with you."

"Your stupid stunt almost got us both killed."

"It was all worth it, wouldn't you agree Miles?"

"If you'd died, it would not have been worth it at all."

"Well now you're here with me, not back there with that jerk. You're with someone who can appreciate your power. I'd do it all again if it meant it'd stay that way."

"You're too kind for your own good...it worries me sometimes."

"Was that a compliment?"

"No, it was a statement of the facts."

"Thanks Miles."

"I feel like I can never pay you back for what you've done for me."

"No debts owed, you saved my life and you're with me. How much more do you owe me even after that?"

"I may have saved your life, but you saved me from mine."

Thinking back to that peaceful moment when we parted ways only a year ago, I lean in to capture his lips. Willingly, he lets me. As the moonlight shines through the window, it almost feels like it did before. The only difference is that before we were tied to the ground. Now, one year later, we are flying free together.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Witches. Did they exist? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I made this story as best as I thought fit. The way they treat supposed witches... It's cruel, and if it was too cruel then I'm sorry. Anyways see ya.


	12. Song 12: Never Too Late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mention of cutting and suicide, don't read if you could be triggered.

Song: Never Too Late by Three Days Grace

Ship: NaruMitsu/ EdgeWright/WrightWorth  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edgeworth's POV:

Soft sobs echo around the large room, bouncing off the walls and back to its source. I wipe my eyes with my arms, at least the part that's clean. Glancing at the fire I'm sitting in front of, I reposition my arm back over the cup on the floor. The clock chimes midnight, but it's not startling. I've always loved the chimes of these clocks, so strong and secure, ringing out proudly for everyone to hear. So unlike me. 

With this thought, I roughly slide the razor across my upper arm. The blood from the wound drips into the cup in a thin stream. Watching the stream, my thoughts go towards my blood. I'm an O type I believe, inherited from my mother or father I do not know. This blood could go to someone who needs it, but I've already gone once this week. I hardly think they won't be suspicious if I return less than a week later. When this stream of blood eventually dries up, I keep on cutting down my wrist. To make sure it all goes into the cup, I tip my arm downwards so it slides down my arm, down my hand, and into said cup. Some blood gets on the floor, but I can clean it up as long as it's not all of it. 

One cut for all those I got wrongfully convicted. 

Second cut for all the trouble I caused in this life. 

Third cut for those who hate me to the core. 

Fourth cut for those who care and they shouldn't. 

Fifth cut for my unnecessary feelings that I can't acknowledge. 

Sixth cut for just being me, the Demon Prosecutor that has done nothing but be a trouble to others. 

Seventh cut for the crippling emotion they call...love.

I'm already starting to feel lightheaded from the blood loss, and I know its time to stop. With my already weakening strength, I wait for the blood to mostly all flow into the cup before shakily standing up. Bringing myself to the bathroom, I empty the cup into the toilet and flush. Slowly, I wash my arm down and wrap it up in thin bandages. That should stop the bleeding for awhile. 

Tiredly, I drag myself to my bedroom where I flop myself onto my bed. I've got work tomorrow, I shouldn't be doing this so late at night. A trial as well, with him. I need to be on my best game or else he'll get suspicious, and I can't afford for anyone to come picking around. If he comes here, then he'll find out for sure. He is more perceptive than he puts himself out to be. Right now though... Sleep is more important, much more important...

-dream-

Back in front of the fireplace. My arm still hurts from my last cutting, barely an hour ago. The fireplace is kind of low, and I toss some of the firewood nearby into it. It blazes up, but I can't feel the warmth. I can't feel anything, I feel so hollow, so devoid of emotion. What more could be expected of a demon? Unafraid of the flames, I reach my hand out to touch them. It stings, but it doesn't burn. Even when I take my hand away from the fire, it still envelops my hand. Bright, daring and bold. Fire is such a beautiful thing, a useful thing, a strong thing.

A warm hand envelops mine and puts out the fire upon my hand. I don't look back, I don't care who is holding my hand. They're all the same anyways, most of the time. Warm fingers trail along the scar around my neck, right under the chin, twisting all the way to the back of my neck. Both hands remove themselves and the person wraps me in their arms. Those arms aren't normal... They have black veins. I can hardly care less, but who or what is holding me right now?

Glancing back, there is a hooded figure kneeling and hugging me from behind. I can't see their face, even from this close. They're wearing skinny pitch black jeans with chains looped on one side like Fran's whip. A large dark blue sapphire is on the hood right over where the heart would be. Large black feathered wings are extended behind it, poised to fly at any given moment. Removing their arms, they grab my chin with one hand and silently moves my head to look at what is in their lap. My razor, my cup, and my bandages. They sweep it off of their lap and grab my face in both of their hands. They lean close and whisper softly with a tinge of sadness in their voice.

"Even in the darkest night the sun must rise again... Don't make me do this... Don't make me do it again."

-end of dream (just so you're not confused)-

Gasping I quickly sit up. Checking the clock it's about 5 in the morning. What a crazy dream... It was about last night I think. I hardly know, dreams slip out of my mind for a reason, probably for the best. They might be particularly insane. Might as well review my notes for the trial, and head down to the courthouse as well. The trial is at 6:30 after all. 

As I get dressed, I notice my bandages are gone. Twisting my arm around, there are all the lines from cuttings a couple days back, but I see nothing from last night. Am I going crazy? I'm probably just tired. Slipping my jacket back onto my shoulders, I grab my cravat and get ready to tie it around my neck. It's horrendously hot sometimes with this, but I can't show my neck to the outside world. My fingers brush against the scar from my suicide attempt awhile back. I wanted to die so badly at the time, I felt like I had nothing to live for. That on top of the guilt I felt for killing my father. He proved me wrong, but how can you forget something you've believed for so long? The only thing keeping me still tethered to this earth even now is... dare I say it? Hope. Why I didn't succeed that last time is confusing, I woke up on the ground with the noose hanging above me and my neck sore. Must've fell off the noose somehow.

As I walk towards my car, briefcase in hand, I lean on the car for a second to watch the sunrise. It's nice, I've never truly spent much time appreciating the scene that occurs everyday. Committing the moment to memory, I slip into my car and start to drive. By the time I make it to the courthouse, it's already 6:00. Did time pass by so quickly? It's almost time for the trial. 

Sitting on a bench in front of the courthouse doors, I scan through the files, making a last minute plan. Conceal this evidence, wait, attack, it's the same old thing. I alter my mental plan as I predict his first attack on the witness' testimony. This should suffice for a decent trial, although I'm sure he will have something else up his sleeve. The bailiff comes up to me and gestures towards the door while saying something unintelligible. Must be time for the trial to begin. Moving to the prosecutors bench, I stand in front of it and look up to meet the eyes of a certain defense attorney. 

Wright's blue eyes are filled with that usual lively light. They haven't changed over the 15 years I was out of touch with him. His assistant, Ms. Fey I believe, glares at me across the room. However, Wright doesn't notice and smiles at me before we both turn to look at the judge.

"Is the defense ready?"

"Yes, Your Honor." His voice is steady and confident as always. 

"Is the prosecution ready?"

"....." I can't do this, I'm exhausted and I can't think straight...

"Edgeworth?" His voice is laced with worry as he looks at me from across the room. The judge stands up and looks at me worriedly as well. The jury murmurs loudly as I just stand there, eyes now fixated on the surface of the bench. That's when Maya Fey breaks the tension.

"Mr. Edgeworth, are you scared to fight against Nick? Come on, maybe you'll beat him!" 

I know she means well, but I feel like she's only doing this so Wright can win. When I beat him, she can be an absolute witch sometimes. However, when it's the other way around... She loves to rub it in my face. They only want me to prosecute this case, and then they couldn't care less afterwards. Well fine. I'll do what they want, like I always do, for the sake of being useful to the government, and others. 

"I'm sorry. I was composing myself. Yes, Your Honor, I'm ready." The judge returns to his seat and the jury calms down to silence. 

"Then let the trial begin! Mr. Edgeworth, your opening statement please."

"With pleasure. The victim is..."

As I make my opening statement, the room is silent. Everything is back to how it should be, all focus once again on the case at hand. As I speak, I look anywhere but the defense's bench. Even in my peripheral vision, I can see Wright looking at me worriedly still. I do wish he would stop staring at me like that, it's so blatant that most likely the whole jury can see it. 

"The prosecution would like to call its first witness." As the witness takes the stand I go through the usual procedure almost robotically. Now even Maya Fey is staring at me and whispering to Wright at the same time. I must focus. If I have any chance of winning this, I must do the best I can possibly do.

-after the trial-

The defense was off his game. The whole time he was stumbling over his words and not paying attention. Even the judge called a recess to get Wright to pull himself together. However, when he returned he wasn't any better and I won the case by a landslide. In all honestly, I truly do believe that his client was guilty anyways, but if he wasn't... If he wasn't, then I just sent someone to a lifetime behind bars for doing nothing. I can't bear another weight on my conscience, but I can't deny the possibility.

"Mr. Edgeworth!" Oh great. Ms. Fey with Wright in tow, and she looks angry...

"We gave you a chance to win in the beginning of the trial, and you didn't even go easy on Nick!"

"As far as I remember, it's not my job to go easy on the defense."

"As far as I remember, Nick has always been there for you when you needed it most, and this is how you treat him in return?!"

"Court is not a place for personal connections. It's not a place to repay debts owed. That is what should be done outside of the courts."

"The least you could've done is give Nick some time to get back in the game before you bombarded him with accusations! He gave you plenty of time at the beginning of court! At least he has some sort of remorse for people and helps them! You just send them to their death, or jail! What kind of person are you?!"

"MAYA! Leave him alone! It's my fault, I wasn't on game okay?" Wright springs into the conversation and shuts his assistant up, but the blows have already been struck. 

"It's fine Wright. She's angry and I understand that. I also understand that I haven't been a good friend to you, especially after you saved me. It's a debt I can never repay, and even if I could, I wouldn't know how. So I'm sorry for today... Wright." Before Wright can say anything, Ms. Fey leaps into action, face red with anger.

"I'll tell you how to pay him back! DROP DEAD!" With that, she drags a shock-still Wright in the other direction.

Drop dead... She really truly hates me doesn't she? Who would care anyways, all I've ever done is send people to life behind bars. I've never done anything to help anyone, why would anyone care? Even one of the people I consider to be a little closer than an acquaintance wants me to drop dead. I'm such a despicable person, I've heard more than once that I don't deserve this and that. I truly don't deserve anything I have right now, what I've done to get there is terrible.

I take off in the opposite direction and hop into my car as soon as I reach the parking lot. Driving down an abandoned back street, I stop in front of a forest. Stepping out of the car, I walk through the trees down a familiar path that I took many years ago. As I go, I let tears drop down my face because there is no one here. Tears stream down my face and I personally find it amazing I haven't dehydrated yet from all the crying I've been doing. After I found out I got Darke wrongfully convicted, well it came to this. I basically murdered him! It should be me rotting in a grave, a murderer, a life destroyer, the worst friend anyone's ever had.

My mind wanders to the blade back at home, but I quickly dismiss the thought. Regrets and all the things I've done are running through my head once again like a broken record. Finally, after a couple minutes of mental torture, I reach the place. A cliff side overlooking what would be a sunset had it not been early morning still. Once before, I came to watch this poetic sunset I speak of. Evidence of my visit lies in the still sturdy looking noose hanging from a nearby tree. Walking over to the noose, I run my fingers over it absently. Then, I look for the large rock that has to still be here. 

When I find it somewhere next to another tree, I carry it over under the noose and stand on top of it. As I wriggle the noose around my neck once again. Before I kick the rock away, I hesitate. Should I really be doing this? Everything everyone said suddenly runs through my mind once more.

"DROP DEAD!"

"You don't deserve anything you've got."

"Waste of air!"

"You send them to their death, or jail!"

"You DEMON! I hope you die for this!"

All doubt is erased from my mind as I quickly kick the rock out from under me. Funny, I don't feel the choking. Of course I can feel my body writhing as I choke, but I barely acknowledge the pain. Mother... Father... Forgive me for this...

A sharp hit to my chest sends me flying back off the noose and I hit the tree it's hanging from. Now I feel everything, the forming pain in my back and the soreness of my neck as I gasp for air. My hands subconsciously rub my neck and wince when I hit the sore spots, right on the scars it seems. I'm startled by a large dark shape looming over me, blocking out the sunlight. 

Big feathery black wings. Black hoodie with the sapphire over the heart. Black jeans with the chain looped on one side. All the black veins running up and down their arms. The information from my dream come flooding back. Am I dreaming? Am I already dead? This can't be real... My thoughts are proven wrong when the person kneels in front of me and grabs my face in its hands like before. This time, they push back the hood.

"...Wright? What...?"

"WHAT did I tell you last night?"

"Last night? You didn't visit me last night... That was a dream."

"WHAT DID I SAY EDGEWORTH?" His voice is loud and it holds a dangerous tone. It's quite intimidating, especially since he's right in my face. What happened to him anyway? Why is he like this?

"Even in the darkest night the sun must rise again..."

"Good, now tell me. Why are you still here doing this?"

"I deserve to die Wright... Why did you save me?"

"I saved you because you deserve to live. Yeah, you've done some stuff in your life, all of us have. Just because yours might be a little worse, doesn't mean that you should die. For a fact, I know you haven't done anything to die over."

"Why do you...?"

"I'm a reaper Edgeworth, I felt the coming of a new death and I came to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it was you. Good enough explanation for you?"

"How did you hide... those?"

"You don't need to know that, you just need to know what you know and keep it a secret."

"I don't need to keep it... Why can't you let me go?"

"In all honestly, if you didn't keep it then I'd have to reap your soul... Dead or not. As for why I won't let you go, like I said you don't deserve it."

"You'd kill me? Then what's the point of saving me then?"

"Damn it Edgeworth! I saved you because I...I mean others, need you alive okay?"

"Why would you need me alive? For some ulterior motive?"

"It's time for me to ask the questions Edgeworth. First of all, why wouldn't I need you? You're my friend, of course I care!"

"I'm a terrible friend Wright, even you must admit that at times."

"Yeah, maybe you've got some social skills you need to work on, but I'm more than willing to stand by you okay? Also, one more question."

"What is it...?"

"Do you like me?"

"You're my friend, of course I enjoy your presence, at times."

"Edgeworth, you know exactly what I mean." Of course I do...

"Not in that way..." Then, he takes out his magatama from his pocket.

"I suggest you tell me the truth."

"I-I do... I guess."

Grinning, he shoves his magatama back into his pocket. Then, he grabs my face once again to kiss me roughly. His large black wings curl around our bodies like feathery walls. It's nice, everything I've been hoping for, until I feel the burning sensation. It goes from a burning sensation into a white hot pain. I can't hold in my screams of pain, and in try to fight the walls holding me in, but to no avail. After what felt like forever, the pain goes away.

Wright steps away from me, folding his wings back behind him. He looks at me thoughtfully and reaches towards me once again to touch my face. For some reason, I don't draw away, because for some insane reason, I'm still not afraid of him. 

"Now, you can't die and leave me anymore..."

"What?"

"Reapers can't die."

Reaching behind me, I feel feathery wings. Looking back, they're a dark red, like blood. What..? My clothes are also changed, to a matching dark red hoodie with a ruby over my heart area. I have a matching black skinny jeans with not a loop of chains, but a set of knives. He didn't just... did he? Reapers have to die first, at least from what I've picked up on folklore. Did he kill me just then?! He gave me what I wanted, but in a whole different way. Without my permission. Then why do I feel so...relieved?

"Thank you... Wright."

"You're not mad?"

"No... Not much." A bright smile breaks out on his face, and it's like a ray of sunshine. 

"Here, take my hand, I'll teach you how to fly."

I take his hand, and we both launch into the sky. Naturally like breathing, my wings spread and we soar in the sky together. As I fly hand in hand with my closest friend, I feel like maybe I can try to make up for my wrongs. I feel like my sun has finally risen again.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this sucks. I have too much to do right now. This is just what popped out of the top of my head when I listened to this song. Hope you enjoy, see ya.
> 
> Also, always remember: 
> 
> “Even the darkest night turns to dawn eventually… our sun will rise again.” – Miles Edgeworth
> 
> “No one can change the past. The only thing we can do is strive to make up for our mistakes. Why must we make up for our mistakes, you ask? Because in so doing… we can find the way back to our path. And once we’ve found our path, we can move on from our past mistakes toward a brighter future.” – Phoenix Wright


	13. Song 13: Now or Never

Song: Now or Never by Three Days Grace

Ship: WrightWorth/EdgeWright/NaruMitsu  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV:

I didn't think that guy was serious when he said:

"THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!"

Well, I don't think anyone did really. The last time some guy said that, everyone held their breath for nothing. I guess this problem took everyone by surprise. Everyone goes to sleep one day, and wakes up in what is the next day, but looks nothing like it. It's steadily been growing colder here in LA. It's not yet to the point where it's freezing, but the temperature has been steadily going down for awhile. Soon, it'll be like a freezer here. Not to mention its insanely dark, save for the flickering street lights. Did I mention why it's all like this? If you're wondering, no, the world did not crack in two or explode or anything remotely close to that. If that were true, we'd all be long dead. It's nothing big really, the world just stopped spinning. Yup, and while one side of the earth is burning, we are slowly freezing to death. I wonder which way hurts less, turning into a ice cube or a human torch.

A lot of people are stocking up on supplies to stay in the city until the cold goes away, or the world just spins again. However, some of us have enough sense to know that it might not start moving again anytime soon, and packed to travel. These so called people are just 2 people. Just Edgeworth and I. We have no idea where we're going, we're just going in a direction we hope is the right one. At least we have a chance of getting somewhere, instead of most likely dying here. Gumshoe is staying behind with Maggey, and Pearls and Maya are staying in Kurain. Larry, he's probably somewhere else with his newest girl, hopefully somewhere safe. 

"It's going to get colder, I just hope we have enough supplies to keep moving..." Gray eyes flick towards me as he speaks, readjusting his backpack as he goes.

"If we need to, we can always get something from a store or something."

"Why for all that is good and reasonable would a store be open at a time like this?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be open..."

"I should have you prosecuted for shoplifting."

"Why for all that is good and reasonable would you land your traveling buddy and friend in jail?" I mimic him, a smirk growing on my face as he scowls. 

"Yes, you're my said 'traveling buddy' for awhile, so unless you'd want this trip to be unpleasant, I'd ask you to stop irritating me."

"Hey! Fine! Let's just talk about something okay? It's going to be boring if we just walk in silence all the time."

"Have you ever heard of the quote: "Silence is golden?"

"So if I'm silent, then I'll turn into gold? I'd rather not..."

"It's an expression Wright, and wouldn't you think we'd both be golden by now if that were true?"

"If we were, you'd have to carry me, because I wouldn't be able to move!"

"I'd rather leave you in the middle of the road."

"Hey!" Edgeworth just looks down and laughs softly at my angry reaction. It's nice to be relaxed and just spending time with him for once, free of most worries. Most of the time, he's working and when he isn't, he visits briefly. He's still the same old Edgeworth, but since this all happened, he's been different. Not in a bad way, he just seems more laid back than usual. 

As we walk together down the deserted highway, I start to feel a little chillier. The temperature must be dropping, not that it wasn't already. When it starts to get colder and colder, I know something's wrong. Grabbing Edgeworth's shoulder, I can tell he's shaking, from the cold or something else, I don't know. He flinches from the touch, but turns to look at me worriedly anyways, my hand still on his shoulder.

"There's something coming. Let's get somewhere safe."

"Yes, that's a good idea." We approach the side of the highway, which has an array of houses right behind a chain link fence. Easily, I climb over it and drop down onto the other side. Edgeworth follows just as quickly, which surprises me to no end. When did he learn to do that? I don't think Von Karma taught him that, or Fransizka for that matter. Together, we walk past houses shivering the whole way, searching for a decent shelter for anything about to come. Suddenly, Edgeworth yelps in pain, and grabs his shoulder. I turn around to see ice sliding off of his jacket where he's holding it. Then, he says one word that sparks me into panic mode.

"Hail..."

Grabbing him, I tug on his jacket insistently. He seems to get the message because we both start sprinting past houses, still searching, but in more of a hurry. Balls of ice start to fall from the sky, none hitting either of us yet. Finally, Edgeworth grabs me and tugs me towards a decent house we could use as a temporary shelter. The second we enter, hail starts falling like mad outside. It sounded like thunder from the inside, from the balls of ice hitting the roof. I stand awkwardly in the middle of what seems to be a living room while Edgeworth leans against a wall, observing our surroundings. 

"That was close."

"Does it hurt?"

"What?"

"That ball of ice hit your shoulder earlier. Does it hurt?"

"My shoulder? No, nothing that's permanent anyway."

"Here, let me see."

"I said its fine, just a bruise maybe, but nothing more."

"I want to check it alright? It could be worse than you think. I have the medical stuff on me anyways, so..."

"Indeed, well alright, if you're so insistent on it." He slips off his semi-thick jacket to reveal a long sleeved black shirt underneath. I wait for him to move his hands back to his lap before I pull the shirt neckline over a bit to peek at his shoulder. As I do, my fingers brush over his collarbone, and while I'm not looking at his face, I can see his blush. Moving my attention to his shoulder, it's as he says, just a small bruise. However, something else catches my eye as I'm about to put the shirt back into position. A new looking gash right at the end of his shoulder already makes me queasy looking at it. Gesturing irritatedly at it, I watch as his eyes slide over to it and remain there.

"Where did that come from?"

"I just tripped on something and fell, no big deal."

"So you tripped fell, and got a gash this big on your shoulder? I find that hard to believe."

"What do you want me to say? We are only human, sometimes we make mistakes. This is why we heal ourselves eventually over time."

"I know you're lying. I can see the locks around your heart." His eyes narrow at me and glance around all of my pockets and my hands.

"Why did you bring that stone with you? Why would you need it? The truth doesn't matter anymore, not now."

"Heh...I didn't, so now tell me. Where did you really get it from?" Edgeworth glares at me irritatedly and lets out a defeated sigh.

"Do you remember when you threw that knife at me?"

"Oh yeah, when you were changing your shirt by that tree. What about it?"

"What about it?! This is coming from the man who was chastising me for wanting to land his 'travel buddy' in jail. You almost slit my neck!"

"Oh God, did I actually hit you with that?"

"Yes Wright, this is why children aren't supposed to play with knives."

"First of all, I'm not a child. Second of all, I'm sorry and I'll patch it up for you.Third of all, why did you lie to me? Fourth, why did you say the truth is useless now? Didn't you dedicate most of your ongoing career on a quest to the truth?"

"Please ask me one question at a time, it's confusing. Firstly, you are not a child, but you act like one sometimes. Secondly, it's fine, and it'll heal without you poking it. Thirdly, I lied to you because you didn't need to know. Fourthly, how does the truth assist us in any way in this situation? Yes, I still value and still want to find the truth to many things, but not when ice about the size of your brain are falling from the sky!"

"The hail isn't that big... wait a second...Hey!"

"Wright, just leave me alone. I am in no mood for small talk, and we might as well get some rest while we're here." Without waiting for a response he stands up and moves to a darker corner of the room. He lays down on his side, facing the wall, using his arm as a makeshift pillow. His bag was left beside mine, and he makes absolutely no effort to even attempt to use that as a pillow at all. Either he's too tired to move and he's sleeping, or he's just pretending to make me leave him alone. Anyway it worked, I'm not going to be speaking to him anytime soon. 

Digging through my bag, I pull out a set of knives, 4 in total. Two are big, two are small. I acquired these from various weaponry stores Edgeworth and I visited together. Since I was never good with a gun, he got me this set of throwing knives instead. He got himself a small dagger and what I believe was a magnum pistol. The pistol is next to his bag and the dagger is in his sleeve, where he can slide it into his hand at any given time. The knives are sharp, and they have intricate designs in the metal. To be honest I told him to get me simple ones, but he got me these. He claimed they were the simplest ones there, but even without my magatama I could tell he was lying. 

I've been practicing my aim with these knives for a while. It hasn't been long, but my aim is so much better than it was when I first got it. Thinking back to the day when we were camping near the highway, near the trees, I try to remember which knife it was. I know it was one of the bigger ones. Carefully, I observe the blade of each knife one at a time, carefully replacing them in their correct spots afterward. A faint smear of red on one of them catches my eye. This must be from that wound on Edgeworth's shoulder. I should've known I hit him, thinking back, he looked in pain when he returned the knife to me. Why didn't I notice? I should've noticed...

He told me that I'm getting better when he returned it to me, even if I sliced through his shoulder. True, I've been practicing whenever I could and my aim is better than it was before at least. To be honest, Edgeworth seems to be better with knives than a gun. Yes, I've seen him carry one around when he's investigating, but he says he doesn't shoot it much. However, I never saw him with any sort of blade. That's why it surprised me when he demonstrated to me how to throw one properly and hitting the mark. Now, I think I can safely say I'm about as good as he is. 

Absently, I throw my knives into the wall across me, far away from the corner Edgeworth's in. His back is to me, if I hit him this time, then I could paralyze him for good. I don't know how long I was going through the cycle of throwing and collecting, but suddenly a sound catches my attention. When I hear footsteps, I whirl towards them and throw one of my smaller knives. Sure enough, it hits its mark and lodges in the person's shoulder. The person yelps in pain and stumbles back, clutching their shoulder. A blade falls out of their sleeve as they stumble back and my blood runs cold. Glancing towards the corner he used to be in, it was empty.

"Oh god, Edgeworth I didn't know it was you, I thought someone else was coming to get us and I wasn't thinking-"

"...You're definitely getting better at that."

"What?" He looks at me with what I assume is an attempt of a smirk, but ends up looking like a grimace.

"I said, you're definitely getting better at that."

"I hit you again and you're so nonchalant about it?"

"Your reflexes are also good, the knives for you were a good choice."

"I-I hit you! What if I got you in the head or your heart?"

"Wright. Stop obsessing about what-ifs and it-could'ves. What could've happened is no longer useful... Neither to me nor you."

"You... You're different."

"I'm not different Wright, I'm putting physical needs before mental needs now. This is a survival situation, if society returns to normal, then those things will once again become priority for me."

"You don't have to give up your values because of our situation right now! We're fine right now, yeah it's cold, but this will pass." It's around then that I notice he's shaking. That's right, he isn't wearing his jacket, not now or earlier when he was sleeping. He must've got up to get it before I tried to skewer him with my knife. 

"I have to Wright. Don't you see? The earth isn't spinning, and no one has any knowledge as to why. It's steadily growing colder and colder, and we must move fast if we're going to survive. Soon, all of this side of the earth will be a tundra and the other side a endless desert. You are keeping your values and being constantly optimistic in this situation! If I kept mine, then neither of us would be preparing for the worst. Neither of us can find the truth to this. The truth is useless to us now."

"You can prepare for the worst and keep your values! It doesn't have to be one or the other!"

Angrily, he yanks the knife out of his shoulder, gasping in pain afterward. He stabs the bloodied knife into the floor before putting pressure on his bleeding shoulder. Quickly, I attempt to staunch it with bandages from the medical kit. He pushes me away as I try, but I shove his hands away until he gives it up. In silence, he watches me take care of the gash in his already wounded shoulder. When I finish, I sit back on the pads of my feet to look at him cautiously.

"Thank you."

"No problem, I was the one that caused it in the first place."

"You told me it doesn't have to be one or the other. It does, at least for me."

"Why?"

"If I let my feelings and values cloud my thinking, I wouldn't be able to make necessary decisions when we absolutely need it. My weakness... could get me, or even worse you, killed."

"It's not as if people are going to attack us or anything, we have nothing to be afraid of besides the elements."

"You'd be surprised what people do when they're hungry, or desperate. I am aware that nothing is happening now, but when the famine in this area comes, and it will, they'll be biting and scratching for anything they can get. When it gets really bad, they'll resort to stealing or in the worst cases..."

"Murder."

"Correct. This is why I have to set aside my values and feelings, because if it ever came down to it, I could never pull the trigger." Of course he couldn't, not after DL-6. He could never take a person's life because of that experience.

"Edgeworth, just let your feelings and values back in for just a minute okay? We aren't in danger now, there is no need to shut them away. It's just me here, and you know I won't hurt you."

"I know that Wright, but-"

"Prove it."

"Prove what?"

"Prove you trust me."

"Throw them at me."

"What?!"

"Throw your knives at me. I trust you won't hit me purposely."

"No, I could hurt you again or kill you-"

"I trust you won't. Now just get on with it will you?"

Hesitantly, I scoop up all 4 knives. 2 big, 2 small. 2 stained with the blood of a friend I care so much about. Someone I'd never hurt intentionally. Someone who I trust with my life. He sits against a wall and gazes at me as I scoop up a small knife, the bloody one that neither of us really wanted to wipe. Those gray eyes hold trust, but I can see the fear in the way his eyes follow the knife and the way he's trembling. Aiming for a spot 8 inches away from the left side of his head, I throw. Surprisingly, it hits the mark. Second small knife, I have to focus. I throw it on the other side of his head and it hits the mark.

His breathing has quickened considerably since I started throwing. As I pick up the large knife with the blood smear, I aim it for 5 inches next to his injured shoulder. I take my time, I don't want to rush it and hit him again, in the same place. When I throw it, it ends up 3 inches away and his breath hitches in his throat. Last knife. Aiming carefully on the opposite side, I throw and it hits the wall 2 inches away from his shoulder. Shaking, he slips off the wall and slowly pulls the 4 knives out of the wall before handing it to me.

"I believe... my trust was well-founded."

"You don't know how scared I was, if I hit you again I wouldn't have forgiven myself."

"Well, you didn't and I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He says this with confidence, but he's still trembling like a leaf.

Sighing, I crawl towards him and grab both his hands in my hands. I say nothing, but I think he gets the message. Gently, I stroke the back of his hands with my thumbs in a calming motion. He watches me as I do so warily, I guess he isn't used to this kind of stuff. As we sit there in comfortable silence, I think towards the future. Who knows if the world will ever spin again? Who knows if Edgeworth and I will ever make it where we're going? That's why I'm thinking of now, the present, because now I'm here with my best friend, and who knows if that will be the same in a couple of weeks. I'm going to commit every second with him to memory and help create happy memories now, while we're both together here. This is now, and it's now or never.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more platonic than anything. No kisses or anything, simply platonic and friendly. It's closer than some, but still platonic friendship nonetheless. I hope you enjoy, I should be writing more now. See ya.


	14. Song 14: The Lazy Song

Song: The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars

Ship: WrightWorth/EdgeWright/NaruMitsu  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: Hey Edgeworth.

Hey Edgeworth, I don't really know how to start this. Since you're gone overseas and long distance calls are obnoxiously expensive, I figured I'd just email you instead. Before you start thinking it's something bad, it's not. Nothing happened. I'm emailing you because I just want to talk about something, anything, while you're gone. I haven't been doing much lately, and everyone else is pretty busy. Maya and Pearls are in Kurain, and everyone else is busy working. Before you call me lazy, I'll have you know that I have no cases whatsoever. If I had one I wouldn't be emailing you right now. (That probably isn't true.) If you're busy too, then it's cool. Just respond telling me so instead of making me wait another 15 years for a response okay?

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: RE: Hey Edgeworth.

First of all, I am indeed fairly preoccupied at the moment, so I'll make this brief. It's good to know that you haven't fallen off another bridge in my absence. It's also good to know that everyone is being somewhat productive, with the obvious exception of you. There are no clients coming to you? Somehow I doubt that, but I have no proof to deny it. If you want to talk, then know that I do have enough time to email you back. I'm not so busy that I can't quickly type a simple email back. You want to talk, bring up a topic. I can't respond to emails that simply can't be responded to. Before I return to my work, how did you get ahold of my personal email anyway?

 

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: Topic.

Alright, I got your email. It's nice that I only needed to wait a couple hours for a response, even if it's brief. Just know you don't have to respond right away all the time, I didn't even check my email until this morning. You asked me how I got your personal email right? Your secretary gave it to me when I swung by once. Don't get mad at her, I asked for it so I could keep in touch with you. Yeah, I probably should've asked you myself, but I kind of figured it was easier to get it from her. Truth is, I have been getting clients, but they all look guilty to the very bones. I haven't found anyone that I can trust is not guilty yet. What have you been doing all the way out there? Are you still prosecuting cases overseas? How you learn all those languages is mind-blowing. It took me a full 6 years starting from when I was in 6th grade to learn French, and I'm still terrible at it. What's the secret?

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: RE: Topic.

I'll have you know that even if I wanted to respond to those letters 15 years ago, I could not. Now, I'll respond as quickly as time will allow me, but if I don't respond for a day or two then I'm working. Do not think I'm intentionally not responding. In response, it was never my intention to get angry at my secretary for giving you my email. Why didn't you ask me directly Wright? I would have given it to you. As for your clients, what makes you believe they are all "guilty to the bone?" Is it the case files or their mere reactions and personality? Remember that neither should be completely trusted alone, but together create a clearer perspective. My activities have indeed been related to the law. Currently, I have won several cases and lost some. Otherwise, I can't disclose via email. I was unaware you could speak another language Wright. Do demonstrate when I return. (There is no secret. You must study hard.)

 

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: Language.

Why couldn't you respond to my letters? Was it because of Von Karma? I get that you're busy, like I said, you don't have to respond immediately. Really, I won't get the wrong idea unless you don't respond for 1 year or something like that. My visiting clients, they just seem guilty, and the case files are packed with a lot of decisive evidence most of the time. I could probably pull it off somehow, but I don't want to hide the truth of whether they're guilty or not because of my abilities. I thought I told you before that I could speak French. It isn't really that good, but if I were to go there I could manage. Still, you know so many languages. German, English, Japanese, Chinese, and a couple more I don't even remember. You learn all those languages in usually a year! There has to be some sort of trick besides studying all the time. Sure, I'll demonstrate when you come back or I can just type something out here. Whatever you want, I don't mind. Do you happen to know any French by any chance?

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: Notifying

Something came up. I won't be able to respond for awhile. Don't wait for any emails anytime soon, I'm going to be occupied. To quickly answer your final question, no I do not speak any French whatsoever. I'll reply back again as soon as possible.

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: RE: Language.

I apologize for such a prolonged response. I did notify you that my work would be time-consuming for awhile. My lack of response 15 years ago was partially because of Von Karma, and some other forces I'd rather not mention. Some advice for you: trust in yourself when determining the likelihood of someone's innocence or guilt. Do not judge unfairly, but think before you decide anything. Truly, I didn't expect you to remember more than 2 of the languages I'm familiar with. There is truly no secret besides hours of study. Given enough time and brain capacity, you can learn a lot fairly quickly I'd think. It was only a curiosity request when I said to demonstrate. If you wish, demonstrate via email. However, I'd much rather prefer to hear it in person. Are you still eating at that noodle shop you like so much? Those noodles were extremely salty, but the noodles here are actually...sour. I will not be surprised if I fall ill from what was in that bowl I ate tonight. Be grateful the food back there is actually normal, I'm sure noodles were not meant to be so sour. 

 

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: Sorry!

I'm so sorry I didn't reply for so long! I finally got a case, and after that another one, and so on. You know what I mean. All the work is finally quieting down now, and I just remembered to check my personal email for once. I saw you sent me an email saying you were busy, that's good, but when are you not really. Thanks for the advice by the way, it's not that I don't think, it's just tough to say no if you get what I mean. It's already hard saying no to a random stranger, and pretty much impossible when it comes to my friends. I couldn't have said no to you when you asked for my help during that case, even if you wanted me to. Speaking of that case, I do still go to eat noodles there. They are still salty, and to be honest I doubt that'll change. You said that the noodles there are sour? How is that possible? If there's any way you can send some over, I'd like to see what you're ranting about. Don't send it over if you get food positioning though, I'd rather not get that anytime soon. I hope you don't get sick though, stay healthy alright? One last thing, by any chance do these "factors" equal up to unnecessary feelings? It's just a theory. Si vous tombez malade, puis me dire que nous puissions avoir une conversation décente d'accord?

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: RE: Sorry!

Wright, it's good to know you've finally got several cases to occupy yourself with. However, you now have no more reason to feel angry at me if I do not respond for a long time. As you did not respond for a considerable 1.5 months, I think that I have every right to get angry at you. However, I won't because that is a stupid reason to get angry at someone, considering the circumstances. My reason for my lack of response 15 years ago was indeed also because of unnecessary feelings. I'd like to know where this theory came from. If I'm going to get angry at you for any reason, it's going to be for bringing up DL-6. I'd rather not bring it up. I hope you understand why I'd like to shut down this topic, it holds certain memories for me. As far as I know, food is not allowed to be shipped over that far out, so you can't get any of those noodles. Why they were so sour, I have no idea. No, I haven't gotten sick. Thank you for your wishes of good health. Also, if I do get sick I will be sleeping and recovering. I will not call you to have a decent conversation just because I am sick and incapable of doing any sort of work. This conversation via email suits me fine until we can speak in person. Were you not the one complaining about long-distance phone call expenses?

 

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: Communication.

Yeah, I'm sorry for not telling you I was busy like you did. Thanks for understanding. You asked where the theory came from, well I remember what you said after one of our trials. You told me seeing me created unnecessary feelings for you. It was more of a guess than anything. If you don't mind, what would those feelings be? Also, I thought you said you couldn't read French! You actually know how to? Why would you need me to say it if you already knew how to speak it in the first place? Anyways, even if you were sleeping and trying to recover, chatting with me over texts or something isn't that hard right? It doesn't really have to be over the phone, but if you want to we can talk that way to save time. Yeah, the price for that call would be pretty high if we talked for a long time. If we don't take that long, I can handle it, it's not that expensive. Anyways, when are you returning to LA?

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: RE: Communication.

Before you go around accusing me of lying to you, I can't speak French nor read it. If you didn't know, there is a device called google translate on the internet. I merely copied and pasted your sentence into the translator. For a fact, I might want to learn that language myself instead of using a translator. You claim that your French isn't very good, but I'd have to say its fairly good from what you've demonstrated. However, if you'd demonstrate in person I'd be able to judge more fairly I'd think. I have a question for you. If your memory of that case so long ago serves you well, what were those unnecessary feelings? As you seem to only remember that certain detail about that whole conversation, you should know what they are, right? Now I'm going to sleep and finish unpacking, I'll have you know plane seats are terrible for sleeping on.

 

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: Meeting.

You came back?! When?! We've got to meet up sometime soon, so we can catch up. How long has it been since I last saw you, maybe 6 months ago? I know you've got to be tired, jet lag isn't fun. So if you don't want to meet up anytime soon then that's fine. Still, if you'd like, we could meet up for lunch or something to chat. If you decide to actually learn French, then I could practice a little with you if that's alright. Maybe I could demonstrate, since you seem so interested for some reason, if we met up somewhere. You're right, I do remember those unnecessary feelings you said to me. Just wondering if that was all. It was unease and uncertainty. In truth, those are pretty necessary if you're human at all. Not saying you're not human, I mean you are. Well, I don't really know how to explain it. Are you already working at regular hours at the Prosecutor's office again?

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: RE: Meeting.

Wright, I came back 2 days ago. I'm positive that I last saw you 8 months ago, not 6. As I am preparing to head for a meeting, this will be brief. If you want to talk about anything, we could schedule something over the phone. I'm not going to debate over schedules via email. Now that I'm in the country, there should no longer be any reason to not contact me through my phone. Keep in mind that if you call me 100 times a day, I will get a new number.

 

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: What happened.

Hey Miles, just forget I said anything okay? What I said and did yesterday was crossing the line. It just slipped out, and I'm sorry. It was insensitive and what I did to try make up for it was over the line. I don't like apologizing over an email, but you have been refusing to talk to me. You left behind your jacket when you ran out of the cafe, if you want I could return it to you in person. If not, then I'll leave it with your secretary for her to give it to you. Wherever you want to pick it up, just tell me and I'll leave it there for you. I'd just want a chance to explain myself and return your jacket to you in person. 

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: Jacket.

Just leave my jacket with my secretary. Thank you for finding it, I was searching for it. I will pick it up when I return to work tomorrow. I need some time to think, please leave me alone. If you want to talk to me, just please wait until next week, I can't talk about it right now.

 

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: Talk.

You said in your last email that next week we could talk. When can we meet up? It's been a week since that last email and you're always busy when I come to see you. Can we just meet up at the cafe again, so we both don't have to go to each other's offices? If you don't want to talk about what happened, then it's fine. I just want to have a friendly talk like old times. If you want to meet up, tell me when you're free. We'll meet up at the same cafe as last time.

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: RE: Talk.

If we are going to continue meeting to talk, please don't fill the conversation with apologies. One apology should be sufficient. This afternoon was rather nice, but I was not offended nor angry at you in the first place. Therefore, your apology was not needed, but still appreciated. Do not get the idea I am ignoring you, I'm just very busy, as I just returned less than a month ago. Thank you for not bringing up what happened previously besides of apologizing. If you would like to meet again to discuss it, then that is fine. However, I will admit that what you said was indeed insensitive, but nonetheless true. I do indeed still have some faint traits of Von Karma's. In any case, I overreacted and I apologize. If you want to discuss any more, then let's talk in person.

 

To: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

From: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

Subject: Hey.

When can we meet up again? Our meetings have been nice so far, especially that last one. I've just got a new case, so I'm going to be busy for awhile. I'll tell you when I'm free if you want to meet up. Are you prosecuting the Benson case by any chance? I think the code name was UR-5 if you don't know which case that is. I'm getting off topic, message me when you're free so we can meet up. If we're both on the case, we can discuss it. Je vous verrai plus tard l'amour.

 

To: FieryPhoenix27@gmail.com

From: MilesEdgeworth26@gmail.com

Subject: RE: Hey.

I am indeed on the Benson case, however I have not conducted an investigation yet. If you'd like to investigate together, I am going after lunch tomorrow. We could meet then, if you'd like. Also, do not call me that. Like I said, I can easily translate your messages via the internet. Du bist unverbesserlich, aber Ich liebe dich trotzdem. Ich werde mit Ihnen später sprechen. It's German if you'd want to translate it. Goodnight Wright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Si vous tombez malade, puis me dire que nous puissions avoir une conversation décente d'accord?
> 
> If you get sick, tell me so that we can have a decent conversation alright?
> 
> Je vous verrai plus tard l'amour.
> 
> I'll see you later love.
> 
> Du bist unverbesserlich, aber Ich liebe dich trotzdem. Ich werde mit Ihnen später sprechen.
> 
> You're incorrigible, but I love you anyway. I'll speak with you later.


	15. Song 15: The Last Night

Song: The Last Night by Skillet

Ship: NaruMitsu/EdgeWright/WrightWorth  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix's POV:

"He's awake! Yo Nick!"

The loud voice is like speakers right up to my ear, they make me jump. It doesn't help that the overhead lights are suddenly flicked on and they blind me. Immediately, I cover my eyes to shield them from the light.

"Hey, Nick! Look at me dude!"

Now I'm debating to cover my eyes or my ears. Then two hands grab my hands away from my eyes and leave me to blink the spots out of them. A guy is sitting in front of me looking at me with some sort of smirk. He looks like some college student, a college student that gets in a lot of trouble. Thing is, there are about 8 people in the room and they're all staring at me. 

"Dude, say something! Gee you took a tumble there, how do ya feel?"

"I... took a what?"

"A T-U-M-B-L-E. Do you even remember?"

"Uh no, and do I know you?"

"Haha you're joking right? It's your old pal Larry!"

"Well uh Larry. I don't know who you or anyone else in this room are."

"Not funny Nick, drop it."

"I'm not joking! Who the heck are you people?"

"Seriously dude, stop fooling around. You're scaring me. Who is she?"

He points at some girl with really strange clothes. They almost look like robes, bathrobes to be exact. Another smaller girl is clinging to her and is dressed as equally strange as the bigger one. Both of them are staring at me wide-eyed. I feel like I should remember everyone here, but no matter how much I try, I can't. The only person I can remember is well, me. 

"I-I don't know, who is she?" Larry gestures towards the two girls and they step closer to my bed. The bigger one speaks first.

"Hey, my name is Maya Fey, this here is Pearl Fey. We were your friends and we helped you at your job sometimes. You saved me a couple of times too Nick, ring any bells?" She looks at me so hopefully that it hurts me to say no.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember anyone..."

"Everyone, introduce yourselves! Nick is having a brain fart!" Larry yells this excessively loudly and everyone stands in a semicircle around the bed, murmuring to each other quietly.

First is Larry, then Maya and Pearl Fey, then a really large guy with a worn down coat and a really large stature. Next to him is a smaller girl with short brown hair, glasses, and some sort of attachment to the large guy beside her. After her is a short lady who looks like she came from the Middle Ages. Her hair is light blue and her choice of clothes is so old-fashioned. The thing that stands out the most though is the whip she's grasping in her hands. I wouldn't want to get hit with that. After that near the end of the line is a man with a brown coat and top-hat who looks very intelligent. The last person is a kid with a blue cap and a blue shirt. He's holding the hand of the guy with the top-hat. They must be related somehow, maybe they're father and son? One thing all these people share is the concerned wide-eyed looks they're giving me. Why are they staring at me like that? The big guy starts first.

"Hey pal, my name is Detective Gumshoe. My whole name is Dick Gumshoe, but just call me Detective! I helped you a couple of times in your investigations, we've both been through a bit together." He scratches the back of his neck and looks as if he's going to say more but doesn't. 

"My name is Maggey Byrde! Well you helped me out once, I was a client sir! You were a really amazing attorney, and I rooted for you in court. I don't really know what else to say..." The girl with the glasses seems speechless after her outburst and Detective Gumshoe pats her on the shoulder. Suddenly the lady next to her whips the end of the bed and silences whatever talking was going on. 

"I am Fransizka Von Karma. Daughter to Manfred Von Karma who you put into jail for murder. You saved my little brother from his foolishness in that case as well. I am Scruffy's superior as of right now, although my foolish little brother is usually in that position. You will remember everything Phoenix Wright, even if I must whip you to perfectly accomplish it!" She whips the end of the bed again and I'm already starting to fear for my life. The man with the top-hat speaks next.

"Hello Mr. Wright, my name is Hershel Layton. I'm an archaeologist and a professor, and have been acquainted with you through a strange incident. I am here on a visit from London with my assistant. We just happened to be in the present area. Go on and introduce yourself Luke." The kid in blue eagerly responds to the professor's suggestion.

"My name is Luke Triton, and I am the professor's apprentice! We met in Labryinthia don't you remember?" He looks like he wants to say more, but stops when the professor hushes him.

"Mr. Wright, what do you remember?" The professor looks sternly at me, I think he might be the only one taking this seriously.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Say anything you remember about your life before now."

"Okay, my name is Phoenix Wright. I became a defense attorney because of someone, I can't remember who. I've done several cases and won most of them, but I can't remember any of the people in those cases. I inherited the Wright and co. Law offices from someone I can't remember. Just a couple of weeks ago I fell into a river and solved a case. That's pretty much it."

"Hmm I see. You can't remember anyone?"

"No, not until you introduced yourselves."

"You can remember the events but not the people involved?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"I may be no expert on the brain, but it seems you have amnesia centered around people. You seem to remember everything except for those around you and in your past." Nobody makes any objections after this statement. That would explain a lot. 

Just then, as everyone was starting to bombard me with if I remember this or that, a doctor comes in. He greets everyone and explains my condition to me after asking me what I remembered. It was pretty much the same thing the professor said, except in more detail. What made everyone go nuts was when he said that it might be temporary.

"This condition of his may be temporary. Some other patients with this same condition have recovered due to some sort of triggering person or item being presented to them. If any of you could find something or someone that Phoenix here had strong attachments towards, then you could possibly trigger his memories."

"What kind of attachments are we talking about here?" The detective asks this with almost a childish expression. It's almost like he is a child learning the rules for a game.

"Strong attachments. Possibly friendly connections if it's a person, but it would most likely be some sort of lover or very close friend. Does he have any?"

"Nope, the last girl he dated, well it didn't go so well."

"Any especially close friends?"

"I don't know, we're all here... WAIT!" His wait makes me jump at least 2 inches off of the mattress, it's that loud. 

"What is it Scruffy? Say it now!" Fransizka whips the detective as she says this and he yelps in pain.

"I was just thinking of calling-" Fransizka whips the edge of the bed once again to silence him. Her expression shows complete understanding of what he is thinking. 

"My foolish little brother. I will contact him at once. Excuse me." She walks out of the room and disappears into the hallway outside to make the call. The doctor decides to continue his interrupted report as soon as the door slams shut behind her.

"Anyway, as for the items, it will most likely hold very significant importance to him. It would probably be something he treasures and would suffer greatly from losing. Now, there is no internal damage besides of this amnesia. He is free to go as soon as he feels well enough to do so." The doctor smiles and removes the needle out of my arm before leaving the room. 

-5 days later-

Gumshoe shoves a Blue Badger plush into my face as I read through a case file and I irritatedly shove it away. A couple of seconds later he shoves some picture in my face. Taking it silently out of his hand I observe it and set it aside. It's just some picture of me and the person they told me was Mia Fey. Apparently she died a while back and she was my mentor/employer. 

"Pal, do you remember anything?"

"No, I'm sorry. Can you please leave me alone?"

"Okay, but tell us if you remember anything!"

As the detective leaves my bedroom he shuts the door behind him before rejoining the rest of the people hanging out in my living room. After the doctor left and I got released, everyone started to attempt to jog my memory. Layton and Luke both had to leave soon afterwards, but they did mention several names to help before they left. People like Espella, Patty, Barnam, and even Belduke. Really old-fashioned names, but it didn't spark anything. However everyone else, mostly the detective and the Feys, started to introduce me to people I probably knew at one point in my life. Considering how many cases I have done, I must have met a lot of people. Believe me, they must have introduced me to at least half of them. Fransizka and Maggey both started showing me items first, but less frequently than the others. Things like my magatama and certain pieces of evidence. 

None of it has worked so far. Maya and Pearl stay with me almost 24/7 but everyone else only comes around after work hours or when they're not busy. It's not as if they dedicate all of their time towards this, at least I hope not. Most of them all just come at once after dinner and I have to sit there for hours while they shove items in my face. They pretty much ran out of people to show me about 2 days ago. Otherwise, life has been pretty normal. I've been taking cases, watching the news, just living. 

Fransizka is yelling in the living room and it's driving me crazy. Even with the door closed, its loud and clear what she's yelling about. Maybe she's in the hallway, not the living room. Getting off the bed, I open the door a crack and sure enough, she's standing in the hallway with a phone up to her ear yelling at someone. 

"-foolish butt over here! What do you mean you are busy? Surely you can spend at least an hour to say hello to your foolish friend. You WHAT?! Do not speak any more! I will come immediately. Goodbye little brother." 

She starts to walk away back down the hall towards the living room and I quietly shut the door. Her little brother huh... I've been hearing a lot about him lately. No one told me anything about him when I asked, so I really don't know much about the guy. What I know is that we must have been friends, from what I just heard, he is a prosecutor, and he's younger than Fransizka. Since Fransizka is younger than me, he must be practically a teenager or a young adult. What doesn't make sense is that he's a prosecutor. He shouldn't be a prosecutor when he's that young, unless he's a born genius. Maybe it's in the blood, Fransizka did tell me she became a prosecutor at 13, how she did, I don't know. 

What confuses me even more is that if he was my friend, then why is everyone refusing to speak to me about him? I already knew the guy in the first place, what's the big deal? Did something happen between us or something? Even if something did, I don't remember, and I'd rather remember it than nothing at all. Three sharp whip cracks come from the other side of the door and I quickly open it before she breaks down the door. Fransizka is standing there with her bag hanging from her shoulder and her whip dangling in her hands. 

"I will be taking my leave Phoenix Wright. Will it be appropriate if I were to visit once again tomorrow?"

"Sure, when are you talking about?"

"20 o'clock sharp. Will that be fine?"

"8 pm is fine. Is there any particular reason for this visit?"

"Yes. You will see tomorrow. I will now take my leave. Goodnight Phoenix Wright." Then she turns around briskly and half runs down the hallway and out the door, slamming it as she goes. My guess is that she's going to bring something or someone important tomorrow. That means more questioning tomorrow night... It's not that I don't appreciate their efforts to jog my memory, it's just that it's frustrating. I feel like something should be happening but it isn't. Hopefully whatever or whoever she brings with her tomorrow will be the breakthrough because... they're running out of ideas. All of them.

"Mr. Nick?" Little Pearls is standing at the end of the hallway looking at me. Slipping out of my room I walk down the hallway to join her and the rest of the people out there with her. The second I sit down on one end of the couch next to Maya, the talking begins.

"Yo Nick, what do you think about this?"

"Nick, remember this?"

"Hey pal, they let me borrow this from the precinct..."

"Mr. Nick, do you remember anything?"

"Nick, remember when Lotta took this picture?"

Maya shoves everyone else's stuff out of the way and drops a picture into my lap. It must have been after a case or something. There's Maya holding a victory sign, Larry, Gumshoe throwing confetti, what looks like a ghost of Mia, me looking very awkward, and some guy next to me. Something flickers in my mind as I observe the guy, he actually looks familiar. He's wearing a dark pink jacket with a black undershirt, black pants, a weird neck thing, and a kind of nervous half hearted grin. His eyes seem to be gray from what I can see and so is his hair, although he looks about my age. I haven't seen him since my loss of memory, but it feels like I know him. Hope starts to flare up a little as I point at the person in the photo. Maybe this person could help me regain my memories.

"Maya. Who is this person?"

"Uh it was your client, Lotta took a photo of all of us together after you acquitted him."

"What is his name?"

"Whoa Nick, dude do you remember something?" Everyone starts to look at me hopefully, mirroring the growing sprout of hope inside me.

"I feel like I know who he is, and you guys haven't introduced me to him yet. It's like I've known him from before. Was he really just my client?"

"Hey Gumshoe, dude call Franzy! We might just have a breakthrough here! Tell her to get him over here now!" He seriously just ignored my question didn't he?

"On it pal!" Gumshoe grabs his phone and dials a number on speed dial. He leaves it on speaker and puts the phone down in the middle of the table in the dining room. Everyone sits around the table waiting for her to pick up. Then a voice comes over the phone, with some sort of background scratching noise.

"Scruffy, this had better be good!"

"Sir, we might have a lead!"

"What is it? Tell me!"

"When can you bring Mr. Edgeworth over here? He thinks he remembers him!"

"I already arranged an appointment for them to meet tomorrow." Edgeworth... so that's the guy's name?

"Can you at least give us his number so that we can talk to him?"

"No. We have a problem Scruffy."

"What?"

"I will explain later. I must go. Goodbye."

She abruptly ends the call and everyone has concerned expressions. Then, Maya stands up and gestures for me to follow her. I follow her back to my bedroom after I say goodnight to everyone, and she tells me to head on to sleep. 

"Nick, you've got a long day tomorrow. Isn't the trial tomorrow afternoon? You've got to rest up! So, go to sleep and you'll meet up with Edgeworth tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Maya. Don't keep Pearls up too long, you two need to come with me to court too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Nick!" She turns off the light and leaves me to get ready for bed. After I brush my teeth and change into a comfortable shirt and pants, I flop onto the bed. Edgeworth huh... Maybe he'll be the breakthrough after all.

-tomorrow night 8pm.-

"I'm sorry Fransizka, I totally forgot about the meeting..." I push open my front door with one hand and balance my bag of groceries with the other. As I kick the door shut and place the bag on the kitchen counter, I notice Fransizka and the guy from the photo are both sitting in the living room watching me carefully. Fransizka is sitting on my couch and the guy is sitting on the floor leaning against the couch, knees pulled up to his chest. He is wearing a zipped up gray hoodie and black pants with running shoes. It looks like he just came from a jog or something. Leaving the bag on the counter, I walk into the living room and stand in front of the pair of people.

"You're Edgeworth right?" The guy doesn't respond, he simply nods his head once.

"From what I heard, you were my client at one point. Is that true?" He nods again, although he gives a confused look before his face smooths out.

"I feel like I remember you, can you tell me anything about yourself?" He pulls out a notepad and a pen and starts to write. Confused, I turn to Fransizka.

"Is he mute?"

"Yes, for now. It pains him to speak, although he could if he wanted to."

"Why?"

"Miles Edgeworth, you heard him did you not? Show him." He pauses his writing to wrap his slender fingers around that neck thing he's still wearing. Untying it, he lets the cloth fall to the floor to reveal a piece of gauze on his neck, once hidden by the neckwear.

"Surgery?"

"Yes, my little brother had it in Germany for his neck. It now temporarily pains him to speak, but he is still capable of doing so." He wraps this cloth back around his neck as I wrap my head around what she just said.

"Wait, Edgeworth and your little brother are the same person? He looks pretty big for someone younger than you." The guy starts to shake in suppressed laughter and he pauses his writing to cover his mouth and hide his grin. 

"He is not literally my "little brother." He is my adopted brother, and I call him that because he came second into my family."

"Oh that's news to me, wait then how old is he?" Then, Edgeworth hands the notepad to me in answer and I read it silently in my head. Hopefully this answers my questions.

'My name is Miles Edgeworth. I am 26 years old. We were childhood friends, you, me, and Larry Butz. As of now, we are still friends and rivals in the courtroom. Considering you do not remember much, I will put this as simply as possible. You saved me in the DL-6 case, which was about the death of my last parent, my father. This resulted in the jailing of my mentor, Manfred Von Karma. Until now, I have been studying in Germany which is why I could not visit immediately. Just know we were good friends. That is all.'

"Okay, then. Miles. Could you tell me anything particularly unique about yourself? I'm starting to get a picture, but I feel like I remember something else about you. An event maybe?" He simply scribbles down a couple words on another page of the notepad in his loopy script and gives it to me.

'Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death.' It chills my heart when I read that note. Flashbacks of the unhappiness, sadness, anger, and all those other feelings cloud my mind. A memory of a hard time in the past, all dealing with that letter. I feel my expression turn angry.

"I remember that, just a little. It was faked wasn't it, that's why you're still alive." He nods and turns his head towards the ground before I snap at him.

"Look at me!" Both him and Fransizka quickly look at me, and Fransizka excuses herself to the bathroom soon afterward. Edgeworth stays put, eyeing me calmly.

"Why did you even do that? Do you even know how much pain you put everyone through? We all thought you were dead! You better have a damn good reason why you just ran off like that right after I acquitted you! Is it because you couldn't handle the truth? Sometimes the truth hurts, you as a prosecutor should know that! So why of all things you could've done did you-" At this point he looks like he's at the breaking point, his expression all guilt, sadness, and pain. Then, he decides to interrupt me midway in a burst of what seems to be anger.

"Damn it Phoenix, I told you I was sorry! You don't remember that it was me, but I told you why! So would you quit lecturing me already, I know all that, you do not have to remind me!" He coughs and looks in pain from the surprisingly clear yelling he just uttered. That voice... I grasp my head in pain as suddenly a tidal wave of lost memories flood my mind. I remember everything, how I met everyone, the names of my clients in previous cases, everything.

"I remember. To find yourself right?" He nods and looks at me surprised. 

"Do you remember anything?" His voice sounds more choked and strained, now that he isn't yelling. He gets up to stand in front of me and grabs my shoulders.

"I remember everything, I actually remember everything. You...You brought back my memories..."

I throw my arms around him in a hug as relief surges through me. I remember everything... He stiffens a little, but he slowly hugs back.

"Thank you Miles..."

"No problem...Phoenix."

Edgeworth convinced them all later that it was just a coincidence, that I just happened to regain my memories then. It wasn't scientifically proven, but everyone believed him nonetheless. Maybe a week or so later, he started to speak normally again. Honestly, it wouldn't be much of a stretch if I said life went on like nothing ever happened. The only thing that changed is probably where Edgeworth and I spent our lunch breaks. Also the fact that he makes me wear a helmet when I go biking. Life now is normal, but different, in a good way. I'm making more memories with those I care about and those I meet along the way, and it's not something I plan to forget ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even sure if amnesia like that exists, but if there is then I couldn't find the name of it... Anyways, hope you enjoyed.


	16. Song 16:The Phoenix

Song: The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy 

Ship: NaruMitsu/EdgeWright/WrightWorth  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Phoenix's POV:

"I never knew you had a jacket like that!"

"Yeah... I've had it for awhile Maya."

"How come I haven't seen it until now? It's so cool!"

"Well, I kind of forgot I had it, so it makes sense you haven't seen it. Anyways, I've got to head out. I have a meeting with some people tonight."

"Cool! Who is it?"

"It's a group of people Maya, not just one person. I might be gone for awhile, so don't wait for me."

"You're going to wear that?"

"Yes, I am. Now I've really got to go okay?"

"You'd better come back for that bird thing! I wanted to show you those last month, remember?"

"No promises Maya, but enjoy your bird show tonight. I've got to go, see you later!"

"Bye Nick!"

I rush out the door and Maya closes it behind me. Rushing down the hallway and running down the emergency stairs, I burst out of the apartment building and onto the sidewalk. People are milling around the sidewalk so as I run, I push them out of the way.   
I'm going to be so late, and they'll never forgive me... Why did I have to forget today of all days? Why did I have to stuff my jacket under a massive pile of clothes? Today is not a good day for any of this!

After 5 minutes of shoving people out of my way as I run, I dash into the forest when I think no one is looking. If someone saw me, if one of them saw me, then it'd all be over for us. It would be over and it would be all my fault. It's misty tonight, like it always is every month. We choose to meet at this specific day of every month because of this silvery mist. It's the one thing that lets people see us at night without blinding them, normal people at least. Personally, I don't like being watched, but none of us wanted to risk accidentally blinding someone. The blame would ultimately be on us for being so reckless, and we don't want that. 

As I burst into the clearing, a crowd of people is the first thing to catch my eye. I mold into the crowd of people, blending in perfectly. No one even gives me a second glance as I walk through the crowd. Usually my hair would attract attention, but I have my hood over my head so no one can really see it. All of us are wearing hoodies with our hoods over our heads, so everyone pretty much looks the same. The one thing that makes us the same is our hoodies. They're kind of flashy, but every single one is unique, including mine. Maya mentioned she didn't know I had this kind of jacket, and it's probably because I never wear it in front of her. Like I said, it's flashy and it's not really my style, so it's usually in the back of my closet catching dust 29-30 days every month.

The jacket is covered with flame designs, which shimmer a little in the light, but more so in the dark. It's an interesting trait of this jacket, it even glows in the dark sometimes. The background is pitch black and there are a pair of flaming wings on the back, which also shimmers from time to time. Everyone in this group has this kind of general design on their jackets, but I'm not so sure about the other groups's jacket designs. Really, the only unique thing about every single one of our jackets is that the specific flame design is different. None of us have the exact same design, they're kind of like fingerprints or an ID card in a way. 

I can recognize some of my group's designs, but not all of them. The leader called every last one of our kind together for this, including the elder ones and the younger ones in training. My opinion is that calling the in training ones isn't such a great idea, but I don't have any authority to change the decision. I just got out of training 6 years ago, and I'm still one of the younger ones out of training. There aren't a lot of us these days. Each of us were specifically chosen at birth because of our uncanny way of turning things around, mostly in our favor. The stories say that the first phoenix died and rose from the ashes, even in the worst of times it returned to life. I guess someone could say that we're all good at bouncing back, so to speak. 

There are some other groups, other birds. Each of them are chosen at birth like us, for a certain specific reason. I don't know all of them, but there are the phoenixes, the nightingales, the pigeons, and so on. Nightingales were chosen for their voices, and pigeons were chosen for being kind of...unsanitary. It probably isn't intentional, they were born that way, but they have a bad reputation for that. Right now, most of them are probably out in the world, blending in with all the normal humans, or right here in the city. Some birds don't stay in groups, some stick it out on their own and try to live normally as a human. Being a bird is not as great as it sounds.

A sharp whistle from outside of the circle turns everyone's heads, including mine. Our leader walks into the crowd, and everyone moves to let him through. He's wearing the same jacket, but he has a bright red mask that covers everything except for his eyes and mouth. Everyone else has an orange or yellow mask, depending on their age. I have a yellow one, because I'm younger. The people in training have yellow masks as well, and the older ones have orange masks. Pulling my mask out of my jacket pocket, I put it on, and so does everyone else. When we're all done putting them on, our leader yells out in a loud voice, which makes me flinch. His voice is probably going to attract unwanted visitors. He doesn't exactly look like he cares though. 

"My fellow birds! We have been gathered here tonight for one reason and one reason only. Our territory is being threatened by those annoying magpies! To avoid the loss of our land, we must fight back! Those birds cannot and will not defeat us, we are one of the strongest birds out there! They don't stand a chance! We will stay together and fight together side-by-side and drive them home!"

Everyone murmurs among themselves after that little speech of his. It's true, we're one of the strongest birds out there, due to our fire and all. He makes it's sound like a walk in the park, but I wish it was that easy. There is a good reason why magpies have so much territory everywhere. In warfare, they use traps. They can use the most useless items to make the most dangerous traps out there, to birds at least. Everyone knows that, they're renowned for that particular trait. That had to be a motivational speech, although I have no idea if he's reassuring us or himself. Probably both, he seems just as nervous as the rest of us. 

Our leader suddenly turns into his phoenix form and launches into the air, hovering over us. The rest of us follow suit. My jacket suddenly moulds into my skin, becoming feathers almost instantly. My arms turn into long feathered wings with the swirling flame design from my jacket all over it, and my legs turn into sharp claws. All of my facial features turn into those of a bird, except for my blue eyes. The mask covers most of my face except for the eyes and beak. After the general morphing is finished, I burst into flames. It doesn't hurt, it's just really toasty, kind of like a warm blanket. I would enjoy it more if I didn't have to be so careful about burning down everything in my path. There is a reason why we're in an area with practically no trees except for those bordering the clearing. Believe me, the clearing is pretty huge, it'd better classify as a field. We shaved the grass off a long time ago, and it hasn't grown back since. By shaving, I mean practically burning down the whole area, trees and all. 

As I take to the air, I can see a dark flock of magpies on the other side of the clearing. True to their name, several of them are holding traps, although I have no idea what they do. Neither of us move, and soft clicking of cameras is the only sound being made. Right, I forgot people were watching us. After a couple of minutes of just staring at each other, one of the magpies lunges at us and both of the armies charge at each other. Our group splits into three groups. The high, medium, and low heights. I'm in the low group so I lunge from the bottom. When the armies collide, it's chaos. Phoenixes and magpies are falling out of the sky everywhere, although for now it's mostly magpies. I lunge, peck, burn, claw, and pretty much use every trick in the book to take down whoever I can before I go down. A lot of the magpies lunge for our weak spots, our faces, but our masks protect us most of the time. Some masks have been broken already, they're tough, but with a strong enough attack, they'll shatter. 

Suddenly, something wraps around one of my claws and drags me towards the ground. I try to wriggle my claw out of the weight, but it only gets tighter. The most I can do is slow the impact and protect myself as I drop. Lucky for me, no one notices the phoenix trapped on the ground by what looks like a brick tied to its leg...yet. One particular magpie notices me and lunges at me, and I can't dodge it so it hits me straight on. Flapping around, I try to attack it, but it keeps on hitting my mask. Eventually the mask is going to give out and I can't do anything about it! There are already cracks in my mask, it's not going to last much longer. 

Suddenly a flash of white flashes across my eyes. The magpie is now fighting what looks like another vicious bird, but this is no phoenix. It's hard to see, but it looks like a...dove. A lone light grey dove is attacking the magpie, and hitting all the weak spots too. This is no normal bird, this is a person. If I remember correctly, there was a colony of doves in Germany. Edgeworth told me about how many doves he saw there once, mainly commenting on how much poop there was all over the ground. What is one of them doing all alone out here? In seconds the magpie drops to the ground and the dove slowly approaches me. It's injured, it's wings and breast peppered with spots of crimson blood. Is it going to attack me? I get ready to turn it into a cooked bird, but it doesn't attack.

Almost cautiously, it dives under me, pecking and clawing at the rope holding me to the brick. In a couple of seconds I'm free to fly again, and the dove drops to the ground. It's alive alright, but it looks weak. Carefully grabbing the dove in my claws, I fly into the air and away from the battlefield. I feel bad leaving the rest of my group to fight it out, but I can't just abandon this little bird. It saved me, and I can't just let it die. Flying over the trees, I search for one of my special places, a place where I hang out alone as a phoenix. A tiny clearing catches my eyes and I dive down into it, dropping the dove down on the ground. A weak coo comes from the bird, but it doesn't move. Landing next to it, I helplessly watch over it. I'm no healer, I have no idea how I'm going to heal it! Letting the flames die down, I snuggle up next to the dove, taking it under my wing. It's the most I can do, it's pretty cold right now.

From what I can tell about the little bird, it seems to be a male. There are subtle differences in stature between male and female birds, and this one looks like a male. His eyes are a dark grey and it matches his feathers, which are a lighter grey then his eyes. We keep our original eye colors so he must be grey-eyed as a human as well. His eyes seem to be studying me carefully, much like a person would do to a stranger. However, he quickly scoots closer to me when a cool breeze blows through, probably seeking warmth from the extra heat I'm giving off. It must be too cold for the poor guy to care much about snuggling up to a stranger. His extra body warmth is welcoming to me as well, just as much as mine is to him. It's getting colder by the second, and he's dying. How am I going to save him? That's the big question isn't it? I'm kind of afraid that the answer is that...I can't.

An irritated noise of frustration exits my mouth and the bird next to me freezes. It's only then that I realize that I've morphed into my human form with the little bird on my lap. He jumps off of my lap and morphs into a human right in front of me. A second later, something hits me on the head hard and I black out.

-next month-

I have no idea what happened to the little dove. For some reason I just can't remember anything after sitting next to him. It's a blur of memories...I just remember waking up alone in the clearing, and returning to the battlefield. I went back to the clearing just before sunrise, after the battle, and he wasn't there. Most of the next month was spent on normal things, taking cases, hanging out with Maya, stuff like that. Maya was telling me all about that "cool" battle she saw that night and she was pretty mad that I didn't come back. I had to make a really good excuse for staying out until sunrise, and I still had to buy her burgers afterward. That girl is a burger maniac, I have no idea how she eats so many at once after court is finished, and even more later. I can't keep anything down most of the time.

Speaking of court, something really strange happened in one of the court sessions. It was a case about some robbery and the prosecutor was Edgeworth. It started out smoothly, with the first witness. For the first couple of minutes it was calm and the usual cross-examining and stuff like that. I noticed that Edgeworth looked a little shaky, but I didn't really pay that much attention. Well, that is until he started coughing blood. The whole court went into a panic after one of the people in the audience called it out. It got even crazier when he just dropped to the ground, and probably would have had a concussion if I hadn't caught him before he hit the ground. I had already been moving towards him so it wasn't that hard to catch him, he was pretty light anyways. I get the feeling he doesn't eat properly or something, maybe that's why. He got sent to the hospital and court was suspended until they could get a new prosecutor to replace him. I think he got released from the hospital last week with a couple of bandages around his arms and torso. I visited him a couple days ago and he told me not to worry about it, even making a comment on the battle the other night. He said that he watched a little bit from his office window.

A couple days before the next meeting, I did my research on doves. It was hard to find the special information I was looking for, but I found it disguised as an advertisement. How clever, it took me hours to find it! It says that doves are mainly supposed to be living in Germany, or just Europe in general. Some major colonies live in the United States, but mostly in Europe. The population is apparently very low right now because of attacks and the lack of people with that certain trait. For doves, their trait is being hardworking, calm, and dedicated all the time. Doves tend to protect others that can't protect themselves at all costs. It explains why the dove saved me, I was trapped and getting attacked, and it saw I couldn't help myself. At all costs is exactly right, the poor guy just dropped after he saved me, I don't even know if he's still alive! 

Speaking about being alive, we won the battle the other night. We wiped out a good chunk of the magpies, but not without casualties. A lot of the in training and elder ones died, and most of us were injured, including me. Even now after a month, my side still hurts when I walk around. Missing people reports have been bombarding the TV screen for a long time. It's a shame that they'll probably never find them...alive at least. After the battle, both sides collected the bodies and hid them deep in the forest. When we die, we automatically become human again, to avoid anyone finding a dead phoenix lying around, so it's bodies, not carcasses. It was depressing because we had to close the eyes of every single one of them. Lucky for me, I didn't recognize any of them. Some didn't even have eyes to close, thanks to those vicious magpies. The battle is continuing again tonight, I hope all of us are in a good shape. We all already want this to end, there are so little of us left. 

-night-

The crowd is smaller now, not significantly, but it's definitely noticeable. A lot of the people are sitting or lying down on the ground instead of standing. Those that are standing have stiff and tired looking postures. Our leader looks tired as well, looks like even a month isn't enough time to heal. He whistles and all of us put on our repaired masks and transform. No motivational speech this time, it's not like any of us would listen much. A lot of us have lost our motivation, which is bad, but not unreasonable. We just lost a quarter of our population last month, and a lot of our group members were close friends. Hopefully this time will have less traps and less casualties. If last time was a victory, I can't imagine a defeat. 

This time our army charges first and it seems to give better results. I'm still on the bottom, we still got our three layers, and they're still dropping traps left and right all around us on the bottom. A lot of us are getting caught and killed down here, and I have no idea what's going on up there. I'm kind of busy dodging traps to pay too much attention to the other layers. So far, I think it's going well... One of those annoying brick traps catch onto one of my claws again eventually, no matter how hard I try to avoid it. Letting myself get dragged to the ground, I try to tear the rope off of my claw, but I just can't reach it. Glancing around, I see brick traps everywhere, but surprisingly no phoenixes attached to them. A sound of flapping wings turns my head and relief courses through me. I mentally smile as a grey dove flies up to me and starts ripping at the rope attaching me to the brick. He's okay...

Right about when the rope is almost torn, the little guy screams in pain. A magpie has its beak around the dove's neck and is squeezing, the bird in its mouth helplessly flailing. The panic in his grey eyes and body language is obvious. He makes eye contact with me, making choked noises, probably begging me to help him, but the magpie squeezes harder. Writhing to get out of the rope, I can't do anything but watch as he chokes to death. Making one last attempt to ask me for help, he chokes out something very unlike a bird noise.

"H-Help me...please..."

Something clicks in my mind with that very familiar voice. The memories come flooding back, the face of the person who knocked me out. Everything starts to make sense. Those grey eyes that had never been able to meet mine for more than 5 seconds, those eyes that look all so familiar. All the injuries in court and those matching character traits. That brief mention of the dove colonies in Germany and his faint interest in the fight last month. No way, it all points towards... In seconds, the dove goes limp and its body is dropped to the ground like a rag doll. 

My vision narrows and my vision is tinged with red. Intense anger fills me to the core, more anger than I've ever felt before. Never before have I been so angry at one particular thing, or person. I can feel my flames getting hotter, bigger, and brighter. The magpie freezes in midair, dropping to the ground as it looks at me. Soon after, the rope around my claw burns to ashes and the magpie transforms into human form and starts fleeing the scene. That is the worst mistake he could have ever made. Chasing after them in a rage, I catch up to them easily and swoop down to catch them. They turn around, fear written all over their face, and the last thing they ever see is the very angry phoenix lunging at them. In seconds, they are nothing but a pile of ashes and my anger starts to subside along with my power. Weakening from my explosive outburst, I transform into human form again just in time to see a light grey figure run into the woods, towards the city. A shiny card on the ground behind him catches my eye and as I pick it up, I observe the name of its owner carefully, smiling to myself as I stare into the woods after him.

-next morning-

*knock knock*

"Come in."

I push open the wooden door and I step into Edgeworth's office. He looks up from his work, giving me a sincere smile as a greeting before relaxing a little more into his chair. It's only then that I notice that a light grey hoodie is slung over the back of the chair, which Edgeworth seems to be trying to cover with his body. Walking up to his desk, his eyes follow me warily as I approach him, spinning his chair to face me as I come around the desk. 

"Wright, how can I help you? Is there a reason why you're here?"

"I never knew you had a jacket like that." He stiffens and cautiously pulls it off the back of his chair to lay it on his lap.

"Yes, well I do not wear it often."

"You know, I found something really interesting the other day."

"That would be?"

"A card. To be specific an ID card with your name on it."

"Oh, where did you find it?"

"In the clearing, where I saw you drop it right before you ran away." He freezes and I can tell he's trying to keep a straight face.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Are you sure? That voice sounded really familiar when you were begging for help." His eyes widen a fraction, he figured it out.

"Wright-"

"You could have just told me you know, instead of knocking me out. I would have taken it okay."

"I'm really sorry, I panicked and-"

"Don't worry about it Edgeworth, you saved me...and I want to thank you."

"Really-"

"It's okay if you didn't want me to know it was you or anything, but now I know. You don't know how scared I was that you'd died last night." Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I hug him tightly, putting my face onto his shoulder. He slowly wraps his arms around me and gently squeezes a little in return.

"Edgeworth, promise me you'll be more careful next month. That's all I'm going to ask you."

"I...will." I quickly let him go and I walk back towards the door, opening it up to leave. Before I shut the door behind me, I turn back one last time to look gently at a very red-faced Edgeworth.

"I'll see you next month... My little dove."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, not the best, but writers block.


	17. Song 17: I Found You

Song: I Found You by The Wanted

Ship: NaruMitsu/EdgeWright/WrightWorth   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
SPOILERS: Don't read if you haven't played PL vs AA and are intending to. 

Miles's POV:

Staring into the fire, alchemist materials scattered about me, I can't help but think of the predicament my childhood friend has gotten himself into. Phoenix Wright, one of the most respected defenders among inquisitors and the common folk alike, accused of being a witch. The more appropriate word would actually seem to be a sorcerer, according to the inquisitors who had the audacity to nearly destroy my front door in their urgency to question me. As I was the last person to have seen him and also one of his closer friends, it was only sensible for them to question me first as to his whereabouts. However, they did not have to attempt to chop down my door when I did not open the door immediately, but nevertheless they did. 

Their questioning was swift and to the point, which was a relief. Had they asked more than they did, I would not have been able to maintain my facade of being cooperative. Those inquisitors didn't suspect anything was amiss when I claimed I knew nothing of his whereabouts. Of course I do not know exactly where he is at the moment, but a certain place comes to mind in a situation like this. He may very well be there, but I had no intention of telling them where this was. Wright is a loyal and steadfast friend, I would not intentionally do anything to make his life harder in any way, sorcerer or not. He trusted in me, now I must trust in him. 

Standing up, I quickly pick up and set away all the materials on the floor. Rolling up my long sleeved shirt, I stick my hands into a bucket of water to wash my hands of any substances that could have stuck to my fingers. As I wash my hands my cravat keeps on getting in my way so I quickly untie it and drape it across the back of my neck as I rinse my hands. It helps with the chilly feeling I have been getting recently. A cold breeze from one of my windows makes my body tremble in a suppressed shiver. Gritting my teeth at the sudden cold, I shut the window I do not remember ever opening. It is much too cold to keep any window open tonight, doing so would most likely result in hypothermia. 

Tugging my cravat off my neck as I flick off the lights, it's shocking how chilly the cloth still is. My body warmth should have warmed the cloth, but it is cool as if it hadn't been touched in hours. It's strange, but it could just be the breeze that blew in a moment ago. That is assuming it was not some sort of sorcery to chill the whole of Labyrinthia tonight, it has never been as cold as this. I am a man that believes in science, but it is true that there is indeed magic here. Believe it or not, it is considered a fact of life, and I have come to accept that fact since I was a child. As I change and prepare for bed, the thought of my childhood crosses my mind. Flopping ungraciously onto my bed after a few minutes, I let that train of thought take over, shutting my eyes to focus. 

I remember a time when I was a child, when I still had my father taking care of me. He was an alchemist as I am now, and we lived our lives as normally as anyone else. My father was friends with a defender, Phoenix's father. Phoenix and I were introduced and we became good friends soon afterward. We studied together, walked together, played together, we spent a good amount of our time as children together. One of my fondest memories was when Phoenix taught me a song he said his mother taught him. That night, when my father returned home, I taught the song to him. Even today, I remember the song by heart. 

Then, my father was murdered several days later...using magic. My father, me, and a guard had all been trapped inside a room of some sort. At the time, the guard was attacking my father and I threw a knife at the direction of their voices. A scream echoes through the night at the second, one I still remember now. The memory is still very hazy, I believe the spell Fainfol had then been used on us so we were all unconscious. When I awoke my father was dead and the guard was on trial. I was adopted by a high ranking inquisitor named Manfred Von Karma. For the next 15 years I was raised and trained as an inquisitor, unable to contact anyone Von Karma did not approve of. That included Phoenix. For the next 15 years I blamed myself for my father's death, with barely anyone around. Of course there was his daughter, but I could hardly tell her that for fear she would tell her father. The only thing that kept me sane was my secret study of alchemy, which I am utilizing now.

Then, several months ago, Phoenix reappeared in my life as a defender and proved my adopted father and mentor guilty of murder by witchcraft. Von Karma was tried and executed in the Witches Court almost immediately the next day. Afterward I began training as an alchemist, and I still am today. Phoenix proved to me that I did not murder my own father, even when I protested otherwise, which is why I have an obligation to believe in him now. I owe him at least that much. 

A loud knock on my door makes my eyes shoot open, and bright sunlight blinds my eyes. I must have fallen asleep. Groggily slipping out of bed, I straighten my clothes and open the door only to have a sword pointed in my face. The inquisitor on the other side of the blade is an equally dangerous looking person. Almost immediately, I am very much awake and alert, due to this nasty wake up call. One step closer and I could have been bleeding to death on the floor right now. With shaky fingers, I carefully grab the sword's blade and push the tip away from my face. Schooling my expression into a poker face, I force my voice to stay steady as I speak to the inquisitor. 

"What would seem to be the matter Inquisitor?"

"There has been a sighting of this witch nearby your home. Have you seen them?" Grabbing a crumpled paper out of his pocket, he shoves it in my face almost impatiently. Just as I suspected, Phoenix's face is on the paper, drawn almost exactly to his likeness. Near here? Why for all that is good and reasonable would he come here of all places? I would believe that he would be aware my home would be one of the first places they would search for him! He even let himself get spotted nearby as well, and most likely got chased away by someone! I would never expect him to be so careless...

"I have not seen this person in days. This sighting may just be coincidental."

"Are you sure? You are indeed the close friend of his, if I remember correctly?"

"What exactly are you implying? You are not suggesting I'm harboring a witch on the premises are you?" Now that I think about it in more detail, my window should not have been open. What if Phoenix had came in through the window last night, right before my eyes? No inquisitor would believe me if I told them this, especially if he's actually here!

"Of course not, but there could be a possibility he could be on the premises."

"One could merely say you believe me to be a traitor, am I right?"

"...I request your permission to search your home for any suspicious activity."

"You could have said so in the first place. The answer is...no."

"I demand-"

"You will demand nothing from me until you bring an official warrant to search my home. Until then, I kindly request you vacate the premises." I allow my voice to become cold, letting loose a good amount of the building anger in the pit of my stomach. Almost as if he could sense my sudden hostility, he backs away and practically flees towards the road, sword in hand. Funny, how considerate he seems to be. He could have very easily forced me into it, but didn't. I do not know if he was actually being considerate or just being a coward, but I will assume it's the former for the time being. Shutting the door behind the rude inquisitor, I slump against the door and slide down it until I hit the floor. It should take approximately a day or two for the search warrant to be issued, at best three. Two days to pack everything suspicious and stow it away before they arrive. If they were to find anything suspicious in their search now, I would be arrested on the spot, for treason and some other charges. 

No use in dwelling on my predicament, the best action to take is to start packing and planning. Standing, I wander into my bedroom to change into a thin, grey, long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Comfortable, yet simply elegant. Walking through the house, I gather everything that could possibly look suspicious to the guards, some vials, notes, etc. Packing all of the items into one large bag, I carefully stow the bag away under the bed until nightfall. Trying to sneak away to hide these items now would most likely result in being spotted, and according to the guard's implied assumptions, I'm under suspicion. Any wrong moves could be used against me at any time now, I must be extremely careful to not be the cause of any unwanted attention. 

As I go through with my daily routine of maintaining the plants in the garden, a glint of blue catches the corner of my eye. Staring into the forest nearby, scanning the trees, there is nothing unusual. There are the dark and light shades of green, but nothing especially different. The sudden chilly feeling of the previous night returns and makes me shiver, even with the hot sun overhead. Trying to mentally quell the unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach I go on with my work, being more wary of my surroundings as time passes. I must be going insane, if I did not know any better, I would have sworn I just saw the glint of a bright blue stone.

-midnight-

It's now or never, time to hide my belongings...in the safest place I know. Somewhere I spent so much time in throughout my childhood, somewhere no one would ever dare to look. Quenching all light sources in my home, I tug the bag out from under my bed. Slinging it over one shoulder, I slip silently out of one of my open windows with practiced ease. This is not the first time a search warrant has been issued for my home, and certainly not the last. I am not what anyone would call normal, alchemists are rare and almost always feared. More than one person have issued search warrants to reassure themselves I am not creating some sort of poison or using magic. Unfortunately for them, they never and never will find anything to put against me, which seems to be annoyingly surprising to them. As if I am any different from them because of my profession. Running into the woods, I take care to make no noise. It's dead silent tonight, and pitch black save for the moonlight flickering through the trees. Any accidental noise would echo towards a good 12 feet away and possibly farther. The last thing I would need tonight is for someone nearby the forest to hear me and start chasing me. For all they know, they could easily assume I was Phoenix.

5 minutes of almost complete silence and running, I finally reach my destination. A dark worn-down shack in the middle of the woods with a nearby pond, a place I spent a lot of time in with Phoenix. We found this place together as children and almost everyday afterward we would meet here to swim in the pond or play in the shack or anything that seemed the most appealing at the moment. Opening the door of the small shack, I step inside to set the bag into a dark corner, concealing it with a dusty blanket. Looking around, the old treasures we found as children are still here, some random pieces of metal or some withered up plant we found interesting, among other things. We kept many of these mementos here, I assume Phoenix had no intention of removing any of them, not now or ever. It's not as if I intend to do so either, it is the only remaining reminder that my childhood ever existed at all. Pushing myself to my feet, I make to leave, but in the spur of the moment I grab an item out of the bag before leaving. Mainly a safety precaution for the rest of the night, a weapon of sorts.

Moving through the darkness, I stop in front of the pond near the shack. The water is surprisingly clear for most ponds, which is the only reason I ever let myself swim here. Sitting cross-legged at the edge with my weapon lying across my lap, I run my fingers through the clear water. The water is cool, cooler than usual considering it's nighttime. Feeling the cool water on my fingertips, I am overcome with nostalgia for the happy days here. As happy memories flood my thoughts, a certain song I was taught comes to mind. Looking around me carefully to check for a prescience, I find no one within earshot. With a bit of trepidation, I quietly start to sing the first verse to hopefully nothing but the pond.

"The water is wide, I cannot get oer..."

I remember when Phoenix taught me this, in the week leading up to my father's death. The day was beautiful, bright, warm, and nearly dreamlike in the forest. In retrospect, I should have appreciated the scenery that day, but our minds were occupied with another idea. Phoenix had suggested we go swimming in the pond that morning, right before lunch. As it was slowly converting from warm to hot, I had readily agreed.

"Neither have I wings to fly..."

We had both plunged in with only our pants on, although I kept my thin undershirt. Although I recall my father was quite annoyed that I had came home with most of my clothes soaked, that worry had been far from my mind at the time. If Phoenix's exuberant mood was of any indication, he had also been far from worrying as well. For hours on end, we swam, played, and even wrestled in the water. I had a slight height and weight advantage on Phoenix, so I mostly won the fights. That isn't to say he did not beat me at all that day, far from it in fact. Competitions to half-drown each other seems to stick out in my mind, especially when I feigned unconsciousness before he let me up for air. He'd panicked at my limp body and had somehow dragged me onto the grass before I opened my eyes.

"Give me a boat that can carry two..."

After he had scolded me for scaring him, we had laid together on the grass and talked. It was then he taught me this song. I will not deny I was more than surprised at his singing voice, it was not anything to be scoffed at. If I recall my thoughts correctly, I remember believing I could fall asleep listening to that voice. When he had finished teaching me, we had both went our separate ways for lunch and did not meet again for the rest of the day. Moving back into the present, I still remember this song by heart. Word for word, note for note. I couldn't forget, even if I tried. Another voice suddenly finishing off the first verse makes me freeze in fear and partial embarrassment. 

"And both shall row, my love and I."

I am on my feet in seconds, cautiously looking about me for the source of the strangely familiar singing voice. It's so familiar, yet it's frustrating how I just cannot recall the owner of said voice, the name is on the tip of my tongue. When a soft snap of a branch from behind me echoes through the woods, I instinctively do the first action that comes to mind...flee.

Breaking out in a run with my weapon in hand, I can hear the quick light footsteps of someone behind me. This only fuels my panic, making me run faster than ever. However, the footsteps are still as close as ever, and I do not seem to be gaining any ground between us. With speed as fast as this, it will be almost impossible to lose him...I believe. My light grey shirt does not blend into the scenery as well as my pants do, I should have changed before I left. How could I have been so careless? Making sure that my footsteps are still silent, I raise the Talea Magica in my right hand and blurt out the incantation in short gasps of breath.

"Dimere!"

With the incantation, the clear gem on my staff glows white and then the staff disappears in my hand. Placing a hand on my chest, my body also effectively vanishes from view. In a matter of seconds, my chaser can no longer see me. This will make it easier to escape, now I must focus on getting far enough to do so. He is still close enough to see my footprints as I run. Making a sharp turn to the left, I try to lose him, but the footsteps only seem to be getting closer. I must get away, they now know I'm a sorcerer. Were my chaser to catch me, they would probably strangle me to death. However, if I can lose them, I will quickly return home, gather necessities and disappear. I will not get caught, not today nor tomorrow do I intend to die. Suddenly, I can hear the soft panting of the person behind me. When did he get so close?! He is not slow and he is getting increasingly closer, I must create a diversion. 

"Famalia!"

Three familiars appear and start attacking the person behind me, who I can faintly hear growl something under their breath before they are out of my hearing range. Running faster than ever, I focus on gaining as much distance as possible with the diversion. Then, I hear the shrieks of my familiars as they're defeated and the soft footsteps behind me pick up once again. How did the person defeat my familiars so quickly? A bolt of astonishment and stifling fear shoots through me. This person chasing me... It is almost as if they were prepared for this situation, no one can defeat a familiar so quickly unless they were properly equipped with the correct weapons. Are they specifically searching for... 

My thoughts are interrupted by a sudden whoosh by my ear and a violent blow to the side of my head knocks me to the ground. My Talea Magica is thrown just out of arm's reach, but the painful feeling on the side of my head prevents me from reaching out. Through the haze of pain overwhelming my mind, the panic at the thought of capture quickly resurfaces and makes itself known. Still dazed by the blow, but desperate to escape, I hold my free hand to the side of my head which is damp and sticky. When I pull my hand away from my head it comes away bloody. Moaning in pain, I struggle to stand with one hand on my bleeding head, but I'm knocked to the ground again by a push to my shoulders.

A hooded figure is standing over me, but it is so dark that it's impossible to see their face. Using what strength I had, I use my legs to scoot across the ground away from them. Chuckling creepily, the person slowly follows me until I collapse from the dizziness of blood loss. Crouching next to my head, he whispers something in my ear and I'm swiftly rendered unconscious.

When I wake next, I am lying next to a fire. The fire does not seem to give off much warmth, it's still as cold as ever tonight. Looking around me, I am still inside the forest, but I do not know where. My Talea Magica and another one lie together nearby, each with different stones inside. Bringing a hand to my head injury, a warm hand gently pushes it away as it strokes my hair. My injury has been wrapped with bandages around my head, which I am grateful for. Had it not been, I might have bled to death. It is only then that I realize that most of my head and torso is on top of a person, who is running their hands through my hair. 

"Who-"

"Shh... You're safe, relax."

"Wright?"

"Are you okay, Edgeworth? I'm sorry I hit you, I really am..."

Sitting up despite the following dizziness, I remove his hand from my head. Carefully moving off of his legs, I settle back down right across from him, facing him directly. Angrily, I glare at him and he doesn't flinch like others would. Instead, he gazes back and holds my gaze with an unnerving stare until I feel uncomfortable and avert my eyes. When I finally look back at him, his blue eyes seem slightly darker than usual, but his expression is no different. For some strange reason, his blank demeanor sparks a flame of anger in my mind, uncalled for as it is.

"What in the world have you done? Are you aware of the inquisitors searching for you in every inch of this town?" My sudden outburst seems to have no effect on him, and he simply turns his head towards the fire in a passive gesture.

"First of all, I didn't do anything, someone found my Talea Magica and I had to stop them from screaming for help. As for the inquisitors, isn't that why I'm in the forest and not the town?"

"You...Did you-"

"No! I didn't kill them, of course I didn't kill them! I put them to sleep, just like I did to you."

"Fainfol."

"Exactly. Anyway, what are you doing in the forest?"

"A search warrant is being issued upon my residence. I was transporting my more suspicious possessions to a safe storage until the search ended."

"A search warrant? Why you?"

"Apparently you were sighted nearby my home. They think I am harboring or assisting you, a sorcerer."

"You say that like you're not one either."

"...However, I am, regretfully."

"How long have you known?"

"Known what?"

"About you and me." He gestures a hand between us as he speaks, being careful to not hit me or touch me in any way."

"I have known about you officially as of several minutes ago, and as for me, since I was a young child."

"I never even suspected about you. It was kind of a shocker when you suddenly just disappeared into thin air."

"You have seen my Talea Magica, it should not have shocked you to see me simply disappear."

"Dimere right?"

"Correct."

Then, in the distance there's shouting and calls. I attempt to stand, but a wave of dizziness sends me to my knees in front of Phoenix, who grabs my shoulders to prevent me from collapsing. Both of us look in the direction of the voices and just barely on the horizon do we see the glow of firelight. Those inquisitors have finally decided to search the forest for Phoenix, and they have finally found us. Taking action, I immediately get to my feet despite the dizziness and I pick up Phoenix's Talea Magica and I shove it into his arms. Turning him in the opposite direction, I give him a hard shove to get him to start fleeing, but he only stumbles and turns back to give me a confused look. The voices are getting louder by the second, they must have noticed the dying fire's light. 

"Run, Wright! They are coming to capture you, not me. I will divert their attention to give you ample time to escape, so go!"

"No, I can't just leave you here. What about your Talea Magica? They'll pin you as a sorcerer or they'll try you for treason if you say it's mine."

"I can handle it Wright, just go!"

"No you can't! You'll get executed for sure, no one survives the witch courts!"

"Wright. Go. Now."

"No. I won't let you just kill yourself for my sake."

"Seriously-"

He quickly stoops down to grab my Talea Magica and throws it in the opposite direction of the guards. Within seconds, it's completely out of sight, although we both are aware of its general location. What is he doing, the guards are almost upon us, and he's still standing here by the fire! Does he have a death wish? Why doesn't he throw his own Talea. Magica as well? Why only my own? Then, while I was about to voice my thoughts, he quickly walks up to me, grabs my face, and before I could register what was happening, slammed his lips onto mine with such force I would've stumbled if he wasn't holding me. It was very brief, but when we parted, his blue eyes were filled with tears. That regretful expression stood out more to me than that unexpected rough kiss we just shared. It is a look I will never forget, a look of blatant sadness and regret.

"I had to do that, just once." Then, he shoves me to the ground. Being dazed and confused by the events that had just aspired in less than a minute and the impact, I don't bother to stand. I had hit my head again, and I could feel the wound start to bleed again. The blood loss makes me increasingly dizzy, and even more so when I feel the bandages being unwrapped. No...that bandage was the only thing preventing me from bleeding to death, as Wright must know. However, I'm powerless as the effects of more blood loss creeps up on me. As the blood from my head slowly starts to drip onto the ground, I hear loud shouting and metal clashing. Dizzy and lightheaded, I try to put pressure on the wound, but I'm too weak to do more than press lightly on it. This is the end, I die of blood loss and Phoenix is executed in the Witches Court. If only this all could have ended differently... The corners of my vision get dark as I blankly stare at the sky, and then I lose consciousness. 

When I wake next, I am in my own home and there is an inquisitor sitting nearby my bed. Dazed, I sit up, and when there is no dizziness, I swing my legs off the bed. Almost in alarm, the inquisitor stands up and moves over to me, gently pushing me back into a sleeping position. Annoyance towards the obviously good-intentioned inquisitor surfaces, and it takes every bit of my willpower to not snap at the poor man.

"What-"

"I've been told to tell you the sorcerer that attacked you has been executed, you are cleared of suspicion, you can continue to live your life, and I've been put here to make sure you are safe."

He bolts out this long sentence in one breath and gasps for breath afterward. The man must be nervous, he obviously does not want to be here, his body language shows that. In turn, I do not exactly want him here either. Fidgeting, glancing everywhere, playing with his hands restlessly, yes, he wants to leave. Taking pity on the man, I quickly dismiss him and he dashes out of my house in less than a minute. Watching him ride his horse away into the distance from my doorway, I wait until he's completely gone before shutting the door securely behind him. Almost as if I'm in a daze, I water my plants as usual, but this time I pick a blue flower and take it with me back inside. Lighting my fire, I slowly pick every petal from the flower and throw them into the fire one by one. As I watch the petals burn, I think of my now dead childhood friend. He saved me once again, and now I have absolutely no way of repaying him. Another person I held dear to me dead, but I feel nothing. I am numb and devoid of feeling, almost as if my feelings have shut down to prevent the incoming pain. As the petals shrivel to ash, I whisper something only I could hear as well as the person I intended this towards. 

"Thank you. It was a honor knowing you as a child and now. Rest in peace, you have surely earned it in the life you lived."

This was pointless, the person I was sending this to was long gone... Then why did I feel as if I made a connection? Why do I feel like I made a connection to someone that I shouldn't have been able to do so with at all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one-shot will be the last, unless I get new inspiration. Just letting you know. I may post a little more afterwards, this little series will never truly be over, but the next will be the last for a long time.


	18. Song 18: My Immortal

Song: My Immortal by Evanescence

Ship: NaruMitsu/WrightWorth/EdgeWright

Based loosely on the game Beyond Two Souls. Some of the credit goes to the creators of the game.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Phoenix, would you mind telling me what's wrong?" The lanky spiky-haired teen shifted in his chair uncomfortably as he averted his gaze towards the side of the room at the dirty window. His dark grey hood was over his head and it was speckled with slowly drying raindrops from the rain outside. As he crossed and uncrossed his fingers on his crossed legs, a pressure on his shoulder not unlike one from fingers prompts him to speak.

"I don't have a problem." After he said that, he growled softly under his breath and the light pressure left his shoulder immediately. He straightened his hoodie praying that the therapist didn't see the imprint of an invisible hand created on his jacket. Thankfully, the therapist hadn't seemed to notice. 

"Really? It says here that you've been speaking to yourself and that things around you have been flying around wildly."

"That sounds like a work of fantasy to me Ms. Fey."

"Call me Mia, we aren't strangers here." She smiled when she said it and Phoenix gave a half-smile to her in return before repeating his previous sentence.

"Also, when you were little, you kept insisting that there was someone named Miles coming to school with you, following you home, and doing everything with you. You were insisting that he existed up until now. Tell me Phoenix, who is Miles?"

"Someone that is always here."

"Is he here now?"

"...Yes." The therapist glanced about the room, but upon seeing no one, she turned with a firm expression towards Phoenix.

"Phoenix, I don't see anyone here...Are you sure he is here?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure that you aren't just seeing things? Have you been tak-" she is stunned into silence as Phoenix suddenly stands up and slams his hands in her desk. The lights start to sway and slightly flicker and Phoenix's chair topples over behind him. Suddenly shaking, he stepped back murmuring expletives under his breath. Backing away from the desk and the wide eyed therapist he spoke hastily before he quickly exited the room. 

"You're just like the rest of them, just leave me be. Have a nice evening, I'm leaving now."

"Phoenix-" 

Phoenix ran out of the office for fear of being followed and when he exited the building he hopped onto his slightly damp bicycle and rode home with shaky hands. When he got to his still vacant home, he left his bike haphazardly on the wet grass as he went inside. Trekking water into the house, he kicked off his shoes as he walked up the stairs to his room. Shutting the door and locking it behind him, he unzipped the front of his jacket and it was gently pulled off of him. Phoenix didn't fight it, and he watched as it was thrown into the chair nearby. An indent on the bed showed that Miles was there and Phoenix lay down next to him.

"I'm sorry, I kind of lost it in there." Nothing responded as usual, but the indent on the bed disappeared and several seconds later the door opened. Phoenix threw an arm over his eyes as he tried to ignore the growing feeling that indicated Miles was angry at him. He always was, when something like this happened. Usually he wouldn't talk to him for days on end, leaving Phoenix wracked with guilt and loneliness. Already feeling a bit of Miles' anger himself, he steeled himself and the anger slowly moved to the back of his mind. His own emotions overrode Miles' but he still kept a mental monitor on his friend's emotions, something he had learned to do. Hearing the door creak as it swung open a little wider and then shut, Phoenix spoke without moving from his position on the bed.

"Hey Miles, you mind getting me a beer?" When nothing happened, he felt the guilt right in the gut. The unhappiness and guilt built up as he realized that Miles was already ignoring him, and it was partly his fault...again. Silent dread built up as he wondered how long it would take him this time to get back on Miles' good side. He hated getting in fights, especially with Miles who he loved more than anyone. More than his adopted parents who thought he was crazy and hated him for it, more than his two friends that weren't really friends, more than anyone and anything. That horrible indescribable feeling that someone gets when they fight with their family or friends? It was doubled for him when he fought with Miles, especially because they were connected...in more ways than one. He was always too emotionally sensitive as well, which didn't help whatsoever. Suddenly, he felt his throat closing up and he grit his teeth. All this thinking about sad feelings BEFORE was making him sad NOW.

Soft scratching noises, a rip, then a ball of paper bounced off his arm before the door swung open with a loud creak. Phoenix took his arm off of his eyes briefly to read the note.

'Only one. You are not going to get drunk and have me take care of you again. Have some self-restraint and stop feeling so sad, you're making me sad as well. I'm not angry at you if that's what you are thinking.'

When Phoenix looked up from the note, a can of beer was hovering right in front of him. Mumbling a soft thanks he sat up, took the can, and opened it, making a loud noise in the dead silent house. As he sipped from the can, the notepad and pencil Phoenix left on his bedside table for Miles moved onto his lap. Still sipping his beer, he watched the pencil move, scratching out letter after letter, sentence after sentence. Even if Phoenix couldn't physically touch Miles, he felt Miles' weight as he wrote on his lap. Sometimes he wondered if it made Miles sad, the fact that he could reach out to the world but nothing from this world could reach back out to him but Phoenix himself. It reminded him of when Miles had first tried to communicate with him through writing. 

He had been 7 or so at that point. Miles had never done anything to make his presence known up until then besides of flickering the lights. It was all he knew how to do at that point in time, although now it was obviously not the case anymore. Now, he could pick up objects, touch things, and so on, but that wasn't the case before. Phoenix knew now that the flickering was an act of desperation and loneliness. He had felt it, the loneliness even when with friends and family. At times when the lights would flicker, Phoenix eventually took to glancing about, searching for a presence he felt, but couldn't find. At those moments he had felt it, that burst of sudden hope, only to be replaced with the crushing feeling of wanting to burst into tears when Phoenix went back to what he was doing. The first words Miles ever wrote to him were shaky and crooked, the writing of a child not a year older than him. Phoenix often noted the change in handwriting from then and now, taking it as a sign that Miles was growing up with him, as little as it was to go on. All that first message said was:

'Can you see me?'

Nowadays the notes were longer, often stretching to paragraphs of writing. They offered support, advice, and observations Phoenix didn't notice most of the time. It hadn't started with writing on his lap either, it had started with Miles lying on his lap to sketching on his lap, and it eventually became a normal thing between them. Now, the soft scratching stopped and Phoenix set down his can to look at the notepad, not moving as he felt Miles lay his head and arms on his lap.

'It was my fault with what occurred at the therapist. I was caught off-guard, and if I caused you trouble, I'm sorry. Don't blame yourself, you're already as sad as you are. I don't know what has you in such a miserable state, but if there is anything I can do to help, just say it and I'll do it. Is it your parents? For what it's worth, I noticed they are not accepting of any unrealistic ideas, but you already were aware of that were you not? It's quite obvious when you're living under their roof after all. Speaking of them, they're late tonight aren't they? Be careful tonight, I have a bad feeling about something, it is just a hunch, but it is making me uneasy.'

Right then, the door downstairs slammed open with a thud, and Miles jumped off of his lap, giving Phoenix a squeeze on the shoulder before going off somewhere. Phoenix walked down the stairs only to find his two parents swaying and leaning onto each other, his mother giggling the whole way. They were obviously deliriously drunk. When Phoenix made his presence known, both of their faces twisted into scowls, which made Phoenix back up warily. Stumbling a little, his father pointed his finger at Phoenix and yelled at him in a slurred voice. 

"Your therapist told us that you ditched the session again!"

"Dad, she wasn't helping, none of them are. Please just sit down, you're drunk and you just need to clear your head-" His father slammed Phoenix into the wall with his arm choking Phoenix slightly on the wall. Phoenix felt Miles' anger flare, but Phoenix hissed softly to warn Miles not to. As Phoenix glanced over at his mother for assistance, he saw she was collapsed on the floor in an unconscious heap. In a cautious movement, Phoenix pulled at his father's arm, but it wouldn't budge.

"Hey, Dad. Calm down, you aren't thinking straight. Just listen to what I have to say-"

His father pushed harder on Phoenix's neck, and suddenly Phoenix could not breathe. Phoenix's hands grasped at the larger man's arms, desperately attempting to loosen the grip to no avail. It only got tighter than before. In seconds, black spots started to appear before Phoenix's eyes, and he knew he was going to die. No one was there to save him, his mother was unconscious, he could not scream for help due to the lack of air, and...

For a second in his blurry vision, Phoenix saw someone akin to a teenager coming up behind his father. In the brief glimpse Phoenix got, he found he had never seen the teen before, but he somehow knew him. He did not know the other person's name, nor anything about them, but they were so familiar. The teen had a maroon colored turtleneck, black jeans, no shoes, and surprisingly, dark grey hair that swayed in some invisible breeze. However, the most shocking feature of them all was their eyes. It was such a light shade of grey that it made him look glassy eyed. Those unwavering eyes closely resembled a deceased's eyes, something Phoenix never forgot the sight of throughout his short life. Then, before Phoenix could even blink, the boy was gone, as if he was never there in the first place.

Suddenly, his father's grip loosened as he staggered back, a large bruise forming along the side of one cheek. Phoenix dropped to the ground, hands at his neck as he gasped for air. Another hit landed on Phoenix's father's other cheek, sending the elder man to the ground. The elder man swung his fists around as he searched for his attacker, but he was met only with air. Weakened by air loss, Phoenix could only watch as his father was slammed into the wall like he was, but this time was suspended in the air with herculean strength as he choked. As Phoenix recovered, he suddenly felt the intense anger radiating off of Miles, an intense enough hate to kill. Phoenix then could see the hand imprint bruising his father's throat, and he panicked, yelling out the first thing he could think of.

"Miles! Control yourself!" The grip on his father loosened immediately and his father dropped to the ground gasping for air. Phoenix could detect nothing but pure disbelief and then terrible guilt off of Miles, which made him worry his lip between his teeth. Unfortunately his father was not finished yet, as he grabbed Phoenix and dragged him down into the pitch black basement. Surprisingly, he met no more resistance, from neither Phoenix nor Miles. Kicking open the door, his father roughly threw him onto the basement floor, then shut and locked the door behind him, as he had done so many times before. Then, two strong arms looped under Phoenix's shoulders and dragged him into an embrace as usual, the embrace being nothing less of comforting. Phoenix started to feel warm inside, knowing someone was looking out for him in this terrible situation. Weary and beaten down, Phoenix slowly started to drift off in the gentle embrace he unfortunately could not reciprocate. 

However, tonight was a different night. Just as Phoenix was about to drift into a dreamless slumber, he felt a finger-sized pressure draw on his back. The lack of sight intensified all other senses, and Phoenix squirmed a little as the slightly ticklish feeling traced letters on his back. He waited until the pressure disappeared and the hand wrapped back around him to interpret the message.

'I'M SORRY PHOENIX'

Right then, Phoenix wished he could reciprocate the embrace. It had become clear that Miles wasn't just holding Phoenix to make Phoenix feel better, but also to keep himself together. The grip of the two arms surrounding Phoenix tightened and a gentle weight on Phoenix's shoulder made itself present. A tidal wave of an overwhelming guilt and self-loathing then suddenly exploded in the back of Phoenix's mind as Miles let his feelings run unrestrained. It took every last bit of Phoenix's mental strength to not be overwhelmed by the feeling. The feeling was intense, so intense it was dizzying and numbing Phoenix's mind...

Then, he noticed it. There was a terrible smell permeating the room that hadn't been there before. Cautiously, Phoenix took a whiff of the scent to only feel more dizzy and now nauseous. Panic set into his chest as he ran to the wall, feeling along the wall, searching for the door. Poison gas, Phoenix was being gassed to death and the dizziness and nausea were only side effects before his inevitable death if he could not escape. He sagged against the wall as he coughed, eyes tearing up with tears as he coughed violently. When he started feeling woozy, he knew he needed to get out of there quickly, and he called out to someone he should have asked for help from sooner. 

"Miles... *cough* the door..." Something immediately gripped Phoenix's arm and dragged him along the wall, eventually making it to a door which was swiftly broken down by the two of them. There was a support under one of Phoenix's arms, and Phoenix was thankful Miles was holding him or else he would have surely fell over. Miles dragged Phoenix out of the house and into the front yard, and brought his still-wet bike over to him, obviously wanting Phoenix to use it to escape. Instead, Phoenix reached into his pocket to call the police, and when he paused, Miles seemed to have no objections.

"What is your problem?"

"My father, he's going crazy, he just tried to gas me to death..."

"Are you alright? Do we need to send an ambulance?"

"No, I'm fine, can you just send someone over?"

"Address?"

Just as Phoenix blurted out the address, a sharp blow to the side of Phoenix's head sent him to the ground. Miles had apparently not seen the older man up until now, and attacked the man with a vicious returning blow to the back of the head. Phoenix's head was now bleeding from the blow, which he could barely see was from the barrel of the magnum his father was holding. The blood loss made him dizzy, and he couldn't stand, silently watching the struggle from the ground as he bled out. His mind was strangely blank and as Miles choked his father once again, he couldn't muster the courage to speak. He didn't even know what he would have said had he the strength anymore. There was some reason why he was suddenly feeling longing or regret and a tiny feeling of panic in the back of his head, but he just couldn't think of it right at that moment. All he could do was lay there, drifting in a sea of nothingness. The corners of his eyes eventually grew dark, then a loud bang and he felt nothing.

Phoenix didn't even remember waking up, just staring up at puffy clouds in a blue sky. The swaying of the grass around him barely caught his attention, he was too occupied making shapes out of the clouds. There was a heart, a music note, then a notepad and pen. The last one made him smile for a second before he realized he didn't feel Miles' presence. Sitting up, he only then noticed the eerie silence. As he glanced about him he saw two sides to this field, the light and the dark. Strangely enough, the light side seemed to be getting closer, although Phoenix passed it off as a hallucination. Right then, his priority was to find Miles, if he was even here in this eerily silent field.

He wandered towards the darker side, and the darkness slowly enveloping the field darkened the scene. The grass turned into dirt and the sky was dark and littered with a myriad of stars and several clouds. There was no one that Phoenix could see, and eventually after a certain amount of walking did he turn around and walk towards the light side. Then the scene grew bright and beautiful, turning into a scene more peaceful and brilliant than the one he had appeared in. Long grass turned into knee-high flowers that brushed against Phoenix's legs as he walked. The edge of the sky turned a sunset pink as he walked closer and closer to the bright light. Oddly, it also seemed to be approaching him. Then, he saw someone.

There was a teenager in the grass, one he remembered from somewhere that he couldn't think of at the moment. It gave him a piercing headache when he tried. The grey haired teen sitting before Phoenix was not among flowers. The flowers did not grow within a certain distance of the boy, leaving a circle of bare grass in which the boy sat. He could see the boy was surrounded by white feathers and some crimson stained ones as well. Pale hands reached out and gathered as much feathers as possible, but it was simply impossible. The feathers fluttered out of his hands and back onto the grass. 

Phoenix felt his frustration when the feathers fluttered out of his hands. Knowing who it now was, he gingerly approached the boy and reached out to touch him. Instead of being met with air, his hand landed on a thin, warm, and very solid shoulder. The boy turned around abruptly and those cloudy eyes were unmistakable. Neither of them said a word, Phoenix didn't even know if the boy could say anything if he wanted to. He was the first to initiate the contact, as he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around the boy, all too happy he could feel a warm body returning the hug. Relief was coursing through him, and he could feel Miles' relief as well. 

"Miles... I thought you were gone for good."

"I'm sorry." Phoenix froze when he heard a voice respond. The voice was smooth, low, and tinted with a slight accent from who-knows-where. It was the kind of voice that made girls turn their heads when they heard it. 

"Was that you?"

"No Phoenix, someone else spoke. Of course it was me." The sarcasm brought a brief smirk to Phoenix's face. He must have been such a bad example for Miles as they grew up, he learned all his tricks.

"Why didn't you talk to me sooner?!"

"Do you think that if it was that easy I wouldn't have done it? It was quite impossible."

"I saw you, you know."

"When?"

"I don't know, it was pretty quick, but I remember seeing you."

"...Strange. You weren't supposed to be able to see me."

"It was fast Miles, less than a second passed."

"Still, it's strange. You must have got pretty close to the veil to be able to see me..."

"The veil?"

Then Miles pulled back abruptly, eyes wide as if he had just remembered something. He stood and pulled Phoenix up to his feet, sending the red and white feathers around them fluttering in the air. Miles pushed Phoenix towards the darker side of the field, and Phoenix stumbled a little before he looked back. It was only when Phoenix looked back at Miles did he realize just how bright it suddenly was, and it was only getting brighter. 

"Go, Phoenix!" When he didn't move, Miles growled under his breath and grabbed Phoenix's hand, dragging him away from the light side and towards the dark. After they were a certain distance away, Miles turned on him and fixated him with those cloudy eyes in a long stare. It was almost as if he was memorizing every detail of Phoenix's face. At the same time, Phoenix was also committing Miles' face to memory. After all, he probably wouldn't be able to see him anymore when they got back home... Then Phoenix frowned as he couldn't remember why they weren't at home right now. He didn't even remember how they got here and why he could see Miles, touch him, and talk to him like a normal human being. In fact, he couldn't remember a thing after he drank that beer Miles brought for him. 

Almost absently, Miles put both hands on Phoenix's shoulders and squeezed in a comforting gesture. It worked, and Phoenix's mouth curled into a small smile at the familiar gesture of comfort. Those hands were stabilizing, like an anchor that supported Phoenix as his mind span in confusion. Giving Phoenix a warm smile, he dropped one hand, and left the other on one of his shoulders. 

"I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"Run for the dark end, and this time don't stop and turn around. Eventually you will reach a misty wall. Go through it and don't look back, I'll be right behind you."

"That's a lie." It was a trick many had fallen for in movies, but unfortunately Phoenix saw right through it. How Phoenix wanted it to not be true, but Miles' silence in response said it all. Miles dropped his arm and he could not meet Phoenix's eyes. This time, it was Phoenix who grabbed Miles' shoulders.

"What's going to happen to you if I go through that mist?"

"Nothing, it's nothing. I'll just go home."

"Home?"

"Where I came from, naturally."

"That means-" Phoenix cut off his sentence before he could say a word more. Both knew what he was going to say, but didn't want to say it. Neither of them wanted to say it aloud, hoping that if they did not, then it would not be true. However, there they were, and the situation stood firm against their wishful thinking. The light was still approaching, at a higher velocity. Knee-high flowers were starting to grow around them, although they dodged Miles. There they were, still trying to remember each other's faces and not wanting to face the inevitable conclusion, but time waits for no one. 

"Phoenix...it's you or me. I have nothing waiting for me back there. You have friends, family, people that will miss you. You have a life to live, so go." Phoenix knew he had to go, Miles wasn't going to give him much of a choice, his voice and posture said it all. He knew he had to move, but he couldn't just walk away and leave Miles behind. It was a slight surprise when Phoenix could feel tears trickling down his cheeks, but it wasn't that unexpected either. The situation to him was like watching a family member die in his arms while he helplessly stood by, and he felt that he had the right to cry if he wanted to, manliness be damned. 

Miles' expression softened, and he gently put a hand to Phoenix's cheek and used his thumb to wipe away whatever tears were within it's reach. Phoenix leaned lightly into the hand, relishing the warmth radiating from Miles' skin. Then, Miles leaned in a little closer, stopping when their foreheads touched.

"Just one last time." Miles waited for a reaction and when he found no negative ones, leaned a little closer, then hesitated. After a few more seconds of a lack of response, he started to pull away, only to be grabbed by his hair and pulled back to Phoenix.

"One last time." Phoenix repeated Miles' words to give him confirmation, but Miles was still hesitant. Phoenix sighed and dragged Miles into a quick kiss on the lips before he was very suddenly and roughly pushed away. Phoenix was hurt for a second before he saw Miles reach out to the golden mist and the second he touched it, Phoenix was thrown backward by a strong force. He struggled to stand and look back, it felt like a strong pressure was pushing him away, like a strong wind. He squinted against the light, and Phoenix saw Miles turn back one last time before his cloudy eyes glowed golden and he exploded into shimmering golden dust. 

\--

It was a miracle, but Phoenix felt empty. He now had a better home, a better school, everything. He knew he should be grateful and happy, and he was, but there was always that person that lingered in his mind. There was always the feeling of missing something, even more so a year after the incident. It seemed that the bigger the time span, the bigger the emptiness became. He tried dating a one or two girls to see if he could come to love one of them and fill up the hole, but it never worked. He'd even tried guys, but that didn't work either. All his efforts did was make the hole even deeper than before. Still, he tried.

He walked into the bar nearby his home for the second time that week. This was where he met most of his male dates, although nothing really did happen besides becoming drinking buddies. Today he had just gotten into a huge fight with his friend, and he just wanted to meet someone and forget for a hour or so. He scoped out the people sitting at the counter and his breath hitched when he saw familiar grey hair. It couldn't be...

Phoenix didn't know what to do for the first few moments, then in a burst of courage, he sat down right next to the guy and bought a drink for him. The other guy turned towards Phoenix with a coy smile, not touching the drink, and Phoenix nearly fell off his chair. He was the spitting image of Miles, minus the glassy eyes. His eyes were a dark grey, just like his hair and overflowing with amusement. Not losing eye contact with Phoenix, the guy downed the drink in one gulp, set it back on the counter, and pressed a piece of paper into Phoenix's hand before standing to leave. Just before he melted into the crowd, the guy turned back to smile warmly at Phoenix, and for a brief second those eyes clouded over before returning to normal. When the person disappeared, he unfolded the paper, read the contents, grinned like a Cheshire Cat, then quickly moved to follow.

'Phoenix, I'll meet you outside. -Miles Edgeworth'


End file.
